A Halloween Fairy Story
by TheDVirus
Summary: Jack Frost needs Pitch's help to find some missing children. But what will Pitch ask for in return? Will Jack get his fairy tale ending or will this adventure become a horror story? Follows 'Footprints on the Sands of Time' but the previous story is not crucial reading for this one.
1. Chapter 1

'I don't like it', said Bunny as he folded his arms.

He and Jack stood on the balcony of North's workshop. They could hear the activity from inside. It was only October but the cacophony of jingling bells, whizzes, bangs and bursts of music broadcasted that preparations for Christmas were in full swing.

Jack had brought Bunny out here to try and convince him of the plan. The guardians had already agreed at the start of the meeting that they would only try Jack's idea if the vote was unanimous. When Jack had explained the idea, there had been hesitation at first from the others but then Sandy of all people had endorsed it via a creative blur of sand symbols. After that, all it had taken was for North to express his feelings about 'second chances' and Tooth had softened considerably.

That just left Bunny.

Jack knew it was going to be difficult. Bunny's thinking could be very black and white at times and he wasn't a big fan of 'second chances'. Especially when it came to the person the meeting had been about.

'I know it sounds crazy', Jack said, perching on the railing, 'But I really think it could work'.

'I know you're worried about what's happening in Burgess mate', Bunny said, 'But letting a dingo in to take care of a baby makes no sense to me'.

'Weird: I always saw him as more of a snake. Or one of those creepy monkeys with the big eyes', Jack commented.

'The point is, he can't be trusted', Bunny snapped, in no mood for jokes.

'You used to say that about me remember?'

As Bunny scowled at him, Jack could see the blush forming under the grey fur on Bunny's face.

'That's not fair and you know it'.

Jack held his hands up in apology.

'Sorry. Low blow'.

'We both know that was different'.

'Yeah but maybe it wouldn't have been if that hadn't happened when it did'.

'Whatcha mean?'

'Look, when you guys first asked me to be on your team, you know I wasn't exactly thrilled'.

'I remember. 'Bribing kids' I think you said?'

'I said that because it felt like all of you were pressuring me to be something I didn't think I could be', Jack explained, shrugging, 'I'd spent years trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. If you and the yetis hadn't bagged me that night, I'd still be floating around trying to keep myself busy. And let's just say I'm not sure I could've stayed on the right side'.

Bunny's ears pricked up at the uncharacteristic solemnity of Jack's voice.

'The right side?'

Jack got up and walked along the railing for a few steps with supernatural balance.

'Bunny, when you have no one to talk to, you start listening to the worst parts of yourself. Every time a kid walked through me, I'd hear this little voice in my head yelling 'Just see me! Please see me!' It's so stupid now but I even got mad at you guys when I heard kids talk about you. How much they looked forward to Christmas or Easter. I hated how it felt. I got so angry…'

Jack trailed off. Bunny felt he should say something supportive but while he was trying to figure out what to say, Jack began to talk again.

'He doesn't have friends like you guys and I think that maybe he's just as lonely as I was. And he's been around a lot longer'.

'Jack, we tried to get him on side before. We all did'.

'Yeah, well, you didn't have me before'.

'What makes you think he'll listen to anything you say?'

Jack turned around, determination in his blue eyes.

'Cause I'm not leaving 'til he does. This is too important. I need his help'.

Bunny sighed heavily. His ears drooped in defeat but he returned Jack's stare with a confident smile. He'd decided.

'You need us, we'll come running'.

Jack winked and jumped off the railing. Bunny couldn't help but feel a bit worried until he saw the boy fly upwards from his descent. He knew the little blighter did it on purpose.

Fear didn't understand fun. It was how they had beaten Pitch before. Bunny just hoped Jack's theory about Pitch was on the money in turn.

'You grew up a bit when I wasn't looking didn't ya?' he whimsically remarked to himself as he turned to go back into the warmth of the workshop.

A snowball smacked him on the back of the head. The North Wind had decided it would be funny to carry his words straight to Jack's ears.

'Not that much', he grumbled as he watched Jack wave then disappear into the pale blue sky.

As Jack flew above a cloudy formation, he racked his brain for an idea of where to find the boogeyman's lair. He had already tried to find the entrance in Burgess Woods that he had used before when he had followed the sound of what he now knew had been his sister's voice.

But the entrance, including the old broken bed, had been gone.

On a hunch he had asked Jamie if he could check under his bed for an entrance. After all everyone knew that's where Pitch did some of his best work. But just like any parent that had ever checked under a bed, Jack had found nothing but some shoes and forgotten toys. Even checking the closet hadn't given a lead. Then again, there was the chance Pitch was deliberately avoiding Burgess. The place probably brought up bitter memories.

Flying a bit lower, Jack landed on the top branch of a huge fir tree to think.

Calling a meeting at the North Pole had been Jack's latest idea. He had figured that maybe one of the others would know of other entrances. However that had meant telling them what he was up to. The good thing was that they were now all on board but he was no closer to putting the plan into motion.

The deadline was the next day. He needed to find Pitch now!

North had mentioned something abstract about how 'fear finds us when we are alone and lost'. Jack had been alone for years and never laid eyes on the boogeyman. He wouldn't be at the Tooth Palace or Bunny's Warren: security had been stepped up since his previous intrusions. The North Pole was out. So where did that leave?

Where had fear found Jack before? Where had he been truly alone?

It came to him in a flash of memory.

He knew where the entrance was.

Leaping from his tree, he took to the air again heading for his new destination on the other side of the world.

The South Pole.

The wave-like, spiked sculpture was still standing even though it had been nearly a year since Jack and Pitch had had their confrontation at its base. Even now, Jack couldn't help but admire the scale of it and the unintentional beauty in the mirrored surface.

He walked around to the inside of the curved base and saw what he had been looking for. A dark tunnel gaped open in the snow like a hungry mouth. As he leaned over the entrance, a few stray particles of snow fluttered down to be swallowed by the shadows.

Jack supposed it made sense. The region was quiet, there were no people for miles and most importantly, there was never any reason for the guardians to come calling. The location would also be handy if Jack needed to remind Pitch of certain similarities between them. After all, hadn't the boogeyman once approached him using exactly the same tactics?

'_What goes together better than cold and dark?'_

Taking a deep breath, Jack put his foot forward and fell into the darkness.

He slowed his descent, relying on the pale blue light from the markings on his staff to illuminate his surroundings. He could make out black marble like stone with miniscule crystals reflecting the light like a thousand fireflies. His bare feet touched cool, smooth stone. Realising he had reached the bottom, he held his staff above his head and concentrated.

The blue light increased in strength and revealed he was in front of another tunnel. Uncomfortably conscious of the unnatural silence in the pit, Jack tiptoed down the passage.

A pair of yellow eyes watched him go and waited for the right moment to strike.


	2. Chapter 2

'This plan isn't going as well as I thought it would', Jack stated, glaring out from behind the Nightmare's shadowy, exposed ribcage.

The Nightmare, slowed by his weight, walked down the tunnel. She snorted at the extra effort it was taking to keep the Guardian trapped inside its stomach. The Tooth Fairy's servants had given her a pleasant sensation of butterflies when she had captured them at the Tooth Palace. This passenger was giving her shivers up her spine.

She gritted its teeth on the staff she held in her mouth, aware of the uncomfortable tingling affecting her teeth. This prompted a hiss of discomfort from her passenger.

'Careful with that!'

The Nightmare snorted in reply.

The Guardian had been almost laughably easy to capture. A quick kick from the Nightmare's back legs had sent him sprawling and before he could rise, she had extended her shadowy jaw and swallowed him whole.

As he had tried in vain to kick his way out, she had scooped up the staff and begun a leisurely trot down the tunnel, eager to show her master the prize she had caught for him. After just a few minutes, the trot had practically slowed to a crawl and the shadow creature regretted its enthusiasm. The Guardian, tired from trying to escape, was now content with simply pushing his back against her hind quarters: slowing her movement with his meagre weight but empowered by sheer defiance.

On the other hand, the surprise on the Guardian's face when he had seen her had been an enticing treat. Who knew? Maybe her master would let her have a bigger snack when he saw what a good girl she had been.

The thought of fresh undiluted fear caused her to salivate a few grains of black sand over the staff and, newly invigorated, she began to trot again.

Pitch was in the midst of his daily practice session. In the centre of his lair, he stood in front of a large, black framed freestanding mirror. Reflected in the background were the numerous empty cages he had used months before to hold the mini tooth fairies as well as the large globe that (despite his best efforts) shone with hundreds of golden pinpricks. Each one a believing child, full of wonder, dreams, hope and…

Pitch made a distasteful face at the last word that went through his mind.

Fun.

Running a hand through his spiked hair, he tried to push the unpleasant thought from his mind. The globe was there as motivation. He had to try harder. Be sneakier. Scarier.

He took a deep breath. He cricked his neck.

And pulled the scariest face he could muster.

He had been working on it for weeks. Long fingers curled like expectant spiders. The two rows of teeth he secretly possessed behind his primary set on full display. Eyes blazing with the pupils narrowed to catlike slits. Finally, he added the twist of a long serpentine tongue, dripping with black ink.

The mirror cracked instantly. Shards tinkled to the floor like crystalline rain.

He smirked and hundreds of sets of jagged teeth shone in dozens of reflections.

That particular face could now be safely added to his repertoire. The mirror test had never steered him wrong. After all, how many humans had caught a glimpse of him reflected behind them while saying some meaningless name three times for a dare?

While he was musing on why it mostly seemed to be teenage girls he encountered while indulging in the practice, he heard Onyx's hoof beats behind him.

She was the only Nightmare he had left now.

Pitch knew he did not get lonely: fear was incapable of such a pathetic emotion. But he had to admit he liked Onyx's company and appreciated her loyalty. He turned to greet her with the customary pat on the neck (an unusually human affectation but Pitch had decided it was appropriate) but stopped dead when he saw Onyx spit a familiar figure onto the floor of the lair.

Jack landed in a heap. Scrambling to his feet, he saw Pitch standing in front of a broken mirror.  
The expression on the boogeyman's face was not encouraging and Jack suddenly felt even more aware that the nightmare still had his staff in her jaws.  
He raised a hand in greeting and smiled with a confidence he did not quite feel.  
'Hi'.

Pitch vanished into the darkness with the speed and abruptness of a whip crack.

Jack lowered his hand limply and looked at the Nightmare. She dropped his staff in a distracted fashion and looked around curiously, obviously wondering where her master had gone and where her treat was for capturing the guardian. Jack took advantage of her confusion to pick up his staff.  
She ignored him and distractedly tapped a front hoof.  
Turning in a slow circle, Jack tried to locate where Pitch had gone. He remembered the last time he had been in the lair and did not want to end up encircled and manipulated again. He moved so his back was at the globe, taking subconscious comfort from the golden light it cast.

'I must be seeing things', came the silken voice. Just as in Jack's visit it seemed to come from everywhere at once.

'Nope and you're not hearing things either'.

Jack didn't like how small his own voice sounded. It seemed to be swallowed by the empty heights of the lair's inner sanctum.

'It must still be a novelty to you. Being seen'.

'You get used to it', Jack said.

He didn't like matching Pitch's spiteful jab: he had always hated it when Bunny had pointed out how kids couldn't see him.  
But he needed Pitch's help. That meant making sure the boogeyman couldn't manipulate his feelings again. And if that in turn meant sinking to Pitch's level to get him to listen then that was that.

'Ow. My pride', came the sarcastic retort, 'Speaking of pride: how does it feel to officially be one of the Man in the Moon's little cronies? Enjoying the camp outs and sing-alongs?'

'Jealous you can't join in with the ghost stories 'round the campfire?'

'Absolutely devastated'.

That had been right by his ear!  
As Jack spun around, the mocking laughter echoing in the heights of the ceiling let him know Pitch was nowhere near him.

'Jumpy aren't you? I wonder why? Even after our last encounter?'

'You're looking pretty good considering how that turned out. What happened to the Nightmares?'

'Seeking new opportunities'.

Jack jumped to the top of the globe, craning his neck upwards. He just couldn't spot Pitch at all! There were thin beams of light coming from unseen gaps in the cavernous ceiling but instead of illuminating the place, they just seemed to emphasise the different non-colours of darkness.

'Last time we saw them you looked a little worried about 'em'.

Was that a flash of movement from one shadow to another? Black material flapping?

'Yes. That's what you were supposed to think'.

The voice sounded like it had come from that direction. Jack tried to bait Pitch into the opening. He jumped back down from the globe and started moving towards the dark patch, crouched with staff at the ready.

'So you just let them drag you off kicking and screaming?'

He could see Pitch's eyes shining: he was sure of it.

'You just rolled over and let us win?'

There was a noise behind him. He turned. Nothing there.

He pivoted back to the way he had been facing and felt a hard grip on the hand he was holding his staff with. He tried to jerk away and looked up into tawny yellow eyes, narrowed in anger.  
Jack began to panic as he felt himself being raised bodily from the ground and he gritted his teeth as Pitch tightened his grip. He tried to jump away with a burst of icy air but Pitch just ignored the ice crystals that spattered on his robe.  
Pitch yanked him closer, jarring Jack's wrist.

'I'm not a villain in a fairy tale Frost. I don't disappear just because the heroes charge in with their shining swords to kill the monster'.

Pitch flung Jack and the staff away. Jack had just enough time to cushion himself with a pocket of air before he collided with the sharp lair walls. He gritted his teeth, rubbing his sore hand.

'What are you then?'

Pitch threw his arms wide and the shadows came to him.

The Nightmare dissolved into black sand and merged with the funnel as it elevated Pitch off the ground like a tornado. Jack covered his eyes to protect them from the grainy flecks as wind picked up in the lair. It whistled and hissed like a pained intake of breath. Pitch's voice was authoritative and strong.

'The bad dream. The scream in the night. The monster under the bed. The eyes watching you in the darkness. Everything that has ever quickened a pulse, dried a mouth or widened eyes. I am the original horror story of cold, hard reality'.

The funnel vanished and Pitch conjured a set of stairs for himself. As he descended, Onyx reappeared at his side. Frost was curled up in a ball, arm across his face. Pitch smirked.

Jack allowed the last of the multitudinous echoes to die away before commenting, 'You ever think you may be a tiny bit overdramatic?'

There was an almost imperceptible pause. When Pitch next spoke, his voice was dry as sand.

'My lair: my rules'.

'Guess that's fair', Jack conceded.

He sat down properly on the floor, legs crossed under him. He had finally gotten Pitch out in the open and thankfully seemed to have exhausted his love for melodrama. The boogeyman's question was resigned and almost grumpy in tone.

'What do you want?'

'I need your help'.

Pitch gave an unnatural bark of laughter. Jack bet he was more used to snickering over clasped hands than displaying genuine amusement. Didn't stop Pitch trying.

'With what pray tell? Making friends and influencing people?'

'Have you noticed anything strange about Burgess recently?'

'Burgess?'

'Big statue in the square, nice lake in the park-'

'Frost, I am rapidly running out of patience so you are rapidly running out of time to leave my lair in one piece. I suggest you make use of the precious seconds you have left'.

'Kids are disappearing'.

'And that's my concern?'

'So you don't know anything about-'

'No. Nor do I care'.

'Well I do. That's why I'm here to make a deal with you'.

'And what will you offer me?!' Pitch yelled, exasperated, 'Chocolate eggs?! Christmas toys if I'm good?! Miscellaneous small change if I allow dear Toothiana to knock another tooth out?!'

Jack waited for Pitch to finish ranting. Moment of truth.

'You know what tomorrow night is?'

Pitch did not answer. How could he not know?! The one night some semblance of his old power returned, strengthened by the superstitious and supernatural.

Jack pretended not to notice the hostile glare.

'It's yours'.

'So you offer me a holiday that should be mine by right?! That _was_ mine by right?!'

'Tempting huh?'

Pitch snorted derisively and began to walk away. Jack followed him. They began to cross a bridge that gaped across a vast empty chasm.

'Huh?' Jack repeated.

'What?'

'I said 'tempting huh'?'

'I heard you', Pitch snapped.

'Come on then!'

Jack leapt over Pitch's head and blocked the bridge in front of him.

'How long's it been since you did some real scaring? Tomorrow night, Burgess is your territory: scare as many folks as you like'.

Pitch's face was a closed book but his eyes betrayed him. They darted from side to side as he considered the possibilities.

'I assume there are rules of some kind?'

'Oh yeah but they're nothing really', Jack waved a hand dismissively, 'Don't wreck anything or hurt anybody. You really made a mess in town last time. Lights broken, cars wrecked-'

'And in exchange for this kingly gift, I help you in your investigations?' Pitch interrupted.

'Yep'.

'And if I find nothing?'

'Doesn't matter. You still get happy fun time. As long as', Jack became serious, 'you've tried your best to help me'.

'And your friends-'

'Already promised not to interfere'.

'They actually agreed to this ludicrous idea?' Pitch asked, genuinely surprised.

Jack cocked an eyebrow.

'You actually care what they think?'

'No but I mean it Frost. I will not tolerate interference of any kind', Pitch said, folding his arms.

'So it's a deal?'

'Yes'.

'Shake on it?' Jack offered his hand, 'Gotta warn you, got a cold grip'.

Pitch took it, his own cool touch merging with Jack's frozen fingers. They shook once, extricated their fingers carefully and each stepped back.

Jack fought the urge to whoop in triumph. Now he could find out what was going on! Who better to find some frightened kids than Pitch?!

'Okay. Let's say the pond in Burgess tonight at six. Just after sundown?'

'It's a date', Pitch said, giving his interpretation of a friendly smile.

'Okay. I'll be in touch', Jack said, looking round, trying not to shiver, 'Now, how do I get out of here?'

He had just enough time to see the shark like grin widen on Pitch's face as the boogeyman clicked his fingers.

Pitch watched Jack cry out in surprise as the ground swallowed him in a shadowy portal. It would deposit him back at the base of the sculpture and seal the entrance behind him. No more unwelcome guests.  
He turned to Onyx and patted her on the nose affectionately. He found he was in a surprisingly good mood.  
It had been so long since he had been abroad on Halloween. The Guardians had made no secret that they disapproved of the kind of 'fun' he indulged in so it would be amusing to think of them gritting their teeth.  
As he began to prepare, he laughed.

If that runt Frost thought he was a tame bloodhound, he was dead wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

'I really hope Jack knows what he's doing'.

Sandy watched Bunny tap his foot idly on the floor. Or so it would have appeared if Sandy did not know better. Jack had returned to the pole about twenty minutes ago and briefed them all on what had happened in the lair with Pitch. Now he and North were in North's study ironing out the finer details of the plan. Namely failsafes in case the boogeyman decided to fall back into old habits.

Sandy had endorsed the plan from the start.

He knew this had surprised the others but he wondered why it had. They should all know the power of belief. He was the first guardian after all. If just one person believed in an idea it could change the world. But if one person believed in someone, even when they believed themselves rotten or worthless, it was a rarer and more wondrous thing. Sandy believed in Jack Frost. And that meant believing in second chances.

Sandy took another sip of eggnog and offered Bunny a cookie from a nearby plate. He had already checked they were free from elf spittle. Bunny waved it away, doing his best to hide his frustration and worry.

'I mean a deal with the devil seriously?! Is that the only plan he could come up with? '

Sandy raised an eyebrow. Sand images appeared above his head.

A bunny. A light bulb. An 'x' over the light bulb.

Bunny rubbed a hand over his face and groaned.

'I know I didn't have any better ideas! I just don't get why the rest of you are so calm about this!'

More sand symbols followed: Pitch's unmistakable silhouette. A swivelling arrow. The arrow stopping and lighting up.

'Just because he can find fear doesn't mean he's gonna try very hard! What does he care about missing children?'

A golden snowflake.

'Yeah I know Jack cares but-'

Sandy pointed above his head where the snowflake now circled around Pitch's silhouette.

'Okay okay! I'm probably overreacting! Jack's a guardian and able to take care of himself. He's beat Pitch before. Any funny business, it'll be the same story. That's what you're telling me right?'

Sandy took another sip.

'Good talk mate. Good talk'.

Sandy looked up at him and nodded with a smile.

'So, what is big plan Jack?'

North was sitting in his chair, sculpting a delicate carousel out of ice. His blue eye was massive in the telescopic lens he wore to check the fine details. Thin sunlight came through the large window, casting rainbow coloured shadows on the surfaces of the study.

Jack was perched on the large desk, being as still as possible so as not to distract North.

'Well, he said 'yes' so phase one's gone well'.

'What is phase two?'

'Halloween's tomorrow night. I'm gonna take him into Burgess tonight. Let him take a look around'.

'You think he will co-operate?'

'Hope so'.

'It is not the same thing Jack. How many children are missing?'

'Three. The police haven't found anything'.

North sighed. He removed the lens and rubbed both eyes.

He looked at Jack. The young guardian's head was lowered, his eyes not seeing the study.

'We will find them Jack', North said, placing a large hand on Jack's shoulder.

He saw the boy nod. He knew Jack was trying with all his heart to believe what North said.

North abruptly stood up. He had always been a man of action. He would prove to Jack he was not alone in this quest! He moved to a chest in the corner and began to rummage through the myriad pieces of bric-a-brac.

'And to make sure we do, we will take precautions'.

Jack ducked as a literal duck made of wood flew past his head, letting out a plaintive quack before landing safely on a cushioned chair.

'Like?'

'Once Pitch realises he can do as he wishes, he may not decide to stay where we want him to', North explained, throwing a dangerous looking bowie knife over his shoulder without looking. Jack sent a quick cool breeze at it and it swerved away to his right. It stabbed the wall and stayed there.

'We cannot have him running loose', North continued, seemingly oblivious to the knife, 'Maybe if you are right (and I hope you are) we can allow him to do what he wants in future. But right now he is loose cannon'.

Jack moved carefully around to North's left shoulder. This was partly to have a nosy in the chest but also to avoid any more potentially dangerous missiles.

'So what're we gonna do? Put a leash on him?'

'No no no! He is not a dog. He knows nothing of loyalty and I don't like the idea of him licking my face. He is like insect yes? Scuttles about, sneaks into cracks and makes nuisance of himself'.

'Sure beats my monkey with the big eyes and Bunny's dingo'.

'What?'

'Nothing. Sorry. You were saying?'

'So when you have big black bug running around where he is not wanted, what do you do?'

'Hit it with a newspaper?'

'Can't make one big enough in time'.

As Jack wondered whether or not North was joking, the Russian finally found what he was looking for. He turned to Jack and showed him what he had taken from the chest.  
It was a snowglobe. It featured a pilgrim village surrounded by tiny fir trees, fake snow swirling within the water.  
North smiled at Jack like a magician presenting a magic trick.

'You see?'

And Jack did. It made perfect sense! If North could use them to travel anywhere in the world, why couldn't he make one that could stop others doing the same thing?!

'He's not gonna like this', Jack grinned.  
He knew he needed the boogeyman but the thought of the look on Pitch's face was too funny not to be enjoyed. Besides, the landing he'd had after being ejected from the lair had hurt.

'Only way he will notice is if he decides to be naughty', North said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

The answer to Pitch's potential disobedience was easy.  
You put a bug under glass.

Tooth was hard at work as usual in the Tooth Palace but her mind was at the pole with the others.

She hadn't had much free time lately. There was always a surge in cavities in the run up to Halloween. She was certain the toffee got stickier every year: it made a real mess of the mini fairies' feathers when they had to collect a tooth that hadn't been cleaned properly.  
But right now, toffee was the least of her worries.  
She smiled at the activity around her as the mini fairies bustled about, flitting here and there with their precious cargo. It had been so quiet with them gone. They were a part of her and when they had been taken she had felt empty. As if someone had ripped out her heart.

She couldn't forgive him for that. The way he'd caged them and mistreated them! He had been lucky she had only knocked out one tooth!

That spark of anger mingled with the darker thought lurking beneath her outwardly calm surface.  
She knew she had to check them. She had to be sure.  
She had put it off for later than usual this year but Jack's plan had almost been like a sign. Maybe it had been. The Man in the Moon had chosen him after all.

Signalling to the fairy Jack had referred to as Baby Tooth to take over air traffic control, Tooth swooped between the crenelated towers of the palace. She flew down past the gilded walkways to the cave concealed behind a delicately cultivated growth of dark clinging ivy. At her approach the ivy parted. The cave entrance beckoned.

After only a brief hesitation, she flew inside.  
Glowing lanterns lit up automatically as she flew past.

The passageway led to the interior of an extinct volcano. She had discovered it when she had first become a guardian and was building her headquarters. It had seemed the perfect place for reflection and solitude.  
Over the years however it had taken on a more sinister purpose. The towers were almost like a trophy case: beautiful and shining to reflect the memories inside.  
This place was different.

She reached the centre of the volcano. A pool of deep water reflected the morning sun high above but the cavern was dim as reflections of the water danced on the charred walls.

She could see the black iron box.

It sat where it always did. On a stone in the centre of the lake.  
It looked almost harmless.  
Tooth was tempted to turn back. She had come to hate the place. It was like a poison, hidden away behind the beautiful world she had tried to build. It was like a buried lie.  
But now, like a toothache, she just couldn't leave it alone.

She flitted across the lake easily and with a remarkably steady hand, opened the box.  
Inside, on a black velvet cushion were Pitch's teeth.

The box was unlike any of the others she had on file.  
Made of pale bone and inscribed with spidery runes, it was in the tasteless shape of a coffin. /  
Tooth hadn't picked it.

When she had first started collecting the boogeyman's teeth, it had been a plain pine box. Each tooth had changed it. They had corrupted it until Tooth could barely stand to look at it. She had so many of his teeth now. Too many if he only had two rows. One had been knocked out when he and North had come to blows. Another had been lost when a child's father had struck him with an iron poker. He had even willingly traded some to her in exchange for her leaving him alone, back when she had been young and curious. She hadn't asked for any more when she had learnt what memories they had held.

Tooth shivered at the texture as she touched it. She wasn't squeamish (a career gathering teeth ensured that) but the box almost seemed to throb in her hand. It reminded her of a slow heartbeat. A sleeping heartbeat.

The lock on the front was different too. Instead of the usual magical diamonds designed to respond to the touch of her mini fairies or the original owner of the teeth, only she could open this particular box.

She winced as she heard the noises. They snuck out of the box and tingled at the edge of hearing, like an insect buzzing in the ear. Whispers in the dark, creaking floorboards and faint barely audible screams.  
These scared her more than Pitch himself. While she was out doing her rounds, she had often felt like something was watching her or the sounds of a resting house had made her jump. They had never come to anything but still-  
She shook her head fiercely and the voices quietened.  
Except one.

'I will have what is mine Toothiana'.

She slammed the box shut and whirled into the air. Her feathers flared up in an aggressive mane and her wings gleamed lethally in the light.

'Where are you?!' she demanded, 'Show yourself!'

Her echoes died away. She heard drips from the walls meet the water in a steady rhythm. There were faint noises from the tunnel that she recognised as her fairies going about their work far above.

After a few minutes, she relaxed, checked the box was secure once more and flew back up the tunnel faster than she had come.  
As the ivy closed behind her, she fixed her feathers and took a deep breath.  
Pitch hadn't found the cave when his nightmares had ransacked the palace. Even if he had, the teeth were no use to him without her. And there was no way she would ever hand them over.

Jack was working with Pitch to find missing children. Tooth understood. If Sandy and North were on board, who was she to argue? She trusted them. She trusted Jack.  
Pitch had no choice but to co-operate. What was his alternative? Sit in the dark muttering about a revenge that would never come?  
She had probably just imagined his voice anyway!  
They were all worried and that box had a habit of misbehaving. The memories within were too old and crafty to be easily controlled.  
Everything would be fine: the children would be found safe and sound and Pitch wouldn't betray them the first chance he got.

She held on to these unlikely albeit optimistic stories and carried them with her as she flew towards the sunlight, leaving the shadows and her doubts behind.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a beautiful autumn afternoon.  
Leaves carpeted Burgess Park and the pond shone with golden ripples. The birds that had not yet left for warmer climates, sang and chirruped over breadcrumbs dropped by considerate old ladies on benches. A lone squirrel scampered thought the undergrowth as it checked on its securely hidden stashes of nuts for the coming winter.  
A gentle, cool breeze blew, laden with the rich smell of a nearby coffee cart. The whole park may as well have been on the front of a postcard.

Pitch hated it.

He stood beneath a tall oak tree. It had already lost most of its leaves but the sheer amount of branches were providing him with a welcome patch of shadow to skulk in.  
Frost had done this on purpose.  
They had agreed to meet after sundown. What was wrong with that? No laughing children, no yapping dogs chasing Frisbees and no damn sunlight getting in his eyes. But no. Frost had sent him a message carried on the North Wind, asking him to meet him right away.  
He could have said 'No'. He had been sorely tempted to. This was a partnership: not a case of Frost clicking his fingers and Pitch showing up ready to serve.  
Then again, the sooner he found the little brats, the sooner he'd get what he wanted. Halloween was the next day for crying out loud! He wanted to enjoy it without owing anyone anything afterwards.  
Pitch could swallow his pride if it meant giving the Guardians their just desserts.  
The town wasn't large. How hard could it be to find a couple of children?

That said, he still hadn't spotted Frost and he was far more distinctive than most.  
He had definitely said to meet him at the park pond.  
Maybe he had meant the other side?

'You've got to be kidding', Pitch said, unable to help himself.

A comfortable looking wooden tree house nestled in the branches of a large tree. Painted white with a blue snowflake on it, the unmistakable figure of Jack Frost waved at him from his perch on top of the ladder.

Jack patted the floor beside him fondly.

'Like it? It's got real windows'.

'What is it?'

'Look at the sign'.

There was indeed a sign. Made of unassuming wood, it was planted in a patch of dirt to the right of the tree house.

'Jack Frost's Cabin' was written in icy blue letters.  
Jack jumped out of the cabin and landed lightly beside Pitch.

'Community project Jamie and the other kids did. The mayor opened it'.

Pitch raised a sardonic eyebrow.

'Charming. Do you have little duckies in this enchanted forest of yours? I can just picture the rabbit hopping around nibbling on daffodils'.

'Hey, I don't make fun of your house'.

'No, you just break in uninvited'.

Jack shrugged, a tad sheepishly.

'Couldn't find the doorbell?'

'Speaking of not being able to find the simplest things, tell me more about your problem', Pitch declared, already sick of the fresh air and wholesome experience he was having.

'About two months ago, a little girl went missing. Her name's Pippa. She lives in the next street over from Jamie. Red hair, normally wears a hat-'

Pitch raised a hand. One long finger wagged in disapproval.

'Spare me the details. Her physical appearance has little relevance to me'.

'Jeez', Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck, 'I thought I was cold'.

'You said 'children' had gone missing?'

'Yeah, twin boys. Claude and Caleb'.

As Jack watched the boogeyman snarl at a passing squirrel, he couldn't resist a quick jab.

'You've met these kids before you know'.

'When would I have-'

Pitch stopped talking. Jack saw him connect the dots and match up the timescale.

'Ah', Pitch said, scowling.

'Yeah', Jack said, smiling.

'And the girl was there too. Wearing a pink tutu?'

'No. That was Cupcake'.

'Her real name?'

'Well, yeah'.

Pitch's lip curled and this time, Jack held up a finger to stop the sarcastic comment brewing in the boogeyman's brain.

'Are you gonna help me or act like a kid?'

Pitch's eyes widened for just a minute. He turned his back on Jack and began to walk. Jack, following behind him, noticed how Pitch's footsteps somehow didn't disturb a single leaf.

'How did they go missing?'

Jack hopped up on to a brick wall and walked beside Pitch, his staff slung over his shoulders.

'Pippa didn't come home from school one day and the next month, same date, the twins disappeared on their way back from soccer practice'.

'Routes taken?'

'They would have to cut through this park'.

'They walk home alone?'

'Yeah. Their school's just on the other side'.

'I remember there was a time when children would not have been allowed to take a walk in the woods unsupervised'.

'No wolves in Burgess Pitch'.

Pitch looked up at him steadily. Jack didn't like the grim expression on his face.

'There are many kinds of wolves. Show me the school'.

Parents were standing around in gaggles, deep in hushed conversations. Children laughed but did not stray very far. Those that did were quickly brought into line by stern words and beckoning authoritative fingers. Pre-schoolers held hands with their friends while adult heads swivelled alertly as they followed close behind. Groups of no less than three children each passed Jack and Pitch as they exited the park. No child was walking home alone now.

Pitch surveyed the scene.

'They're scared', he pronounced.

'Well, why shouldn't they be?' Jack said.

What an odd thing to say. Of course they were scared!

'Yes. So scared'.

The slight hiss at the end of the word caught Jack's attention.  
Pitch was staring at the various small groups with an unusually intense stare. His back was slightly curved and his fingers twitched at his sides. It reminded Jack of a cat watching an unsuspecting mouse.

'Um, Pitch? You okay?'

This seemed to break whatever trance Pitch had fallen into. Pitch blinked a couple of times and did a double take.

'What? Yes. Yes! I'm fine!'

'Must be the fear he wants', Jack realised, 'When was the last time he ate?'

'You sense anything?' he asked out loud, deciding to keep a closer eye on Pitch's body language to prevent a reoccurrence.

A voice interrupted before Pitch could answer.

'Jack!'

The two spirits looked over to see a young boy running towards them, school rucksack bouncing on his shoulder.

'Wonderful. A trip down Memory Lane', Pitch groaned while Jack waved the boy over.

'Hey Jamie!'

Jack forced a smile and was somewhat sad to see Jamie attempt the same. It wasn't his job to be strong. Pippa, Claude and Caleb were some of his best friends.

'Have you found anything yet?'

'On the case right now. Don't worry'.

Pitch leant against the wall, resigned to Jack's desire to socialize with the boy but not above a casual commentary.

'You realise this little chat is making this boy look crazy: talking to thin air and everything'.

Jamie was oblivious to Pitch's observation. He hadn't been able to see Pitch since the Guardians had defeated him. Jack was grateful for that. He just wished he had a similar filter.

'I know Jack. It's just gonna be hard without them. We had plans for Halloween'.

'Like egging the homes of innocents because they dared to give you fruit instead of candy'.

Pitch was enjoying this. Jack took a deep breath and rested a hand on Jamie's shoulder.

'I'll find them Jamie. Just believe in me'.

'Oh please', Pitch griped, face palming as he turned his back on the conversation.

'So what's the word anyway?' Jack said, speaking a little louder, 'The grown-ups still want to cancel the Halloween festival?'

'The mayor said it should go ahead as long as people take care and there are lots of grown-ups around. He said 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself''.

Jack ignored the snide bark of laughter only he could hear. Jamie looked concerned.

'You okay Jack?'

'Yeah. Just getting a headache I think. Gotta go Jamie. You just stay safe okay?'

As Jack started to walk towards Pitch (trying to resist the urge to hit him over the head with his staff), Jamie piped up again.

'Jack. There's another one'.

'Where?'

'The back of the school building'.

'We'll check it out. See you later Jamie!'

Jack leapt into the air and flew towards the school. Pitch followed slowly, looking both ways before crossing the street. Jaywalking was an even greater hazard when motorists couldn't see you at all.

As Jamie walked to the section of wall to wait for his mum as usual, he was puzzled by what Jack had said.  
'We?'

'Another what?' Pitch asked.  
Jack was ahead of him as they crossed the playground but Pitch felt no desire to catch up. Frost's conversation with the child, Jamie, had been a welcome distraction. Pitch's stomach was still growling at him. All that fear congregating at the school gates had almost been too much for him to resist.  
He contented himself with the thought of the next night. Halloween meant easy meals: the one night of the year when people went out of their way to get scared. And he was finally going to get to enjoy it again!  
Now, if only he could get what he really wanted. He knew the Guardians had them somewhere. Finding the children would benefit him in the long run: it would make the Guardians trust him.  
Make them in his debt. Then he could ask for them and they could not refuse. He could ask for his teeth.

Jack landed as they began to move around the back of the school building.

'There've been these weird drawings popping up ever since Pippa went missing. They appear, get cleaned up but then show up somewhere else'.

As they rounded the corner, there was no ignoring the large painted image. Pitch froze, eyes narrowed.

The graffiti was crudely done: slapped on with a paintbrush rather than a more easily controlled spray can.  
It was a black shape, vaguely humanoid with empty eyes. Long talons reached towards the viewer, dripping with black drops.  
_'The Nightmare Man'_ was scrawled beneath the effigy.  
Jack, moving closer, ran a finger over the paint.  
Dry.  
He looked to his left and right to speak to Pitch only to discover that Pitch had stayed at the turn of the corner, eyeing the wall with a strange look.  
'Come take a look at this Pitch'.  
'I'm fine from here thank you'.  
Jack didn't like that response at all.

Pitch frowned as he noticed Jack flicking his eyes between the drawing and himself.  
'It looks nothing like me'.  
'Well something's bugging you about it. You wanna tell me anything?'  
'No'.

Jack could feel his patience reaching its limit. He subconsciously gripped his staff tighter.

'Pitch, if this has something to do with the kids, you'd better tell me'.

Pitch had noticed Jack's tension and reacted coldly.

'I would if I knew what it meant Frost. I'm just as confused as you are. Well, maybe not quite', he added nastily.

That was the last straw for Jack.

'This is all just a big joke to you isn't it?!' he shouted.

A brisk breeze sprang up, scattering leaves up in mini whirlwinds.

'No', Pitch stated, the shadows lengthening around him, 'It's a pathetically unfunny joke that I'm having to jump through hoops on the off chance you and that band of reprobates will allow me some freedom to follow my instincts for a change!'

'Your instincts hurt people!'

'Well so do yours!'

As Jack's eyes widened, Pitch gave him no chance to recover.

'All those little innocent blizzards?' Pitch counted them on his fingers, 'Those fun filled snow days? What about the elderly trapped in their homes? The commuters driving down dark roads at night? The homeless freezing to d-'

There was ice growing on the leaves now.

'Stop it!' Jack yelled, raising his staff in attack.

'Consider the toll of your own fun before you judge me. Especially for something I did not do', Pitch said quietly, not rising to Jack's aggression. He was wary of the staff but also very satisfied with the experiment. Frost could be so easily manipulated.

The quiet tone of Pitch's voice seemed to snap Jack out of it. He lowered his staff with a sigh. Pitch had never denied responsibility before. It made no sense for him to start now.

'Sorry'.

'I do not know where these children are. I'm not sensing anything'.

'Can't or won't?'

'Can't. And you should be very worried about that'.

That clinched it for Jack. If Pitch had done it, he would've made a big show of finding the kids then taken what he wanted. The boogeyman was right about one thing. Jack was worried. Moreso than he had been.

'Fine. I'll tell the others and figure out our next move'.

Pitch rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Frost really was at the end of his tether.  
Perhaps instead of waiting for the teeth to fall into his hands, he could pull them closer himself.

'Maybe we could- yes-that would improve our chances', he said, careful to let Jack hear every other word.

'What?'

'Hmm?'

'What did you say? Improving our chances?'

'Oh, just thinking out loud'.

'Don't give me that', Jack snapped, marching up to look Pitch in the eye, 'You tell me or the deal's off and you can crawl back under a rock'.

Pitch made a show of rolling his eyes and tutting in irritation.

'Alright. I'll tell you my idea but only if the other Guardians are with you'.

'Why?'

'Because the solution concerns them greatly. Besides, I want to see the looks on their faces when you all agree'.

'You seem pretty sure they will', Jack said cautiously.

'Of course they will'.

Pitch patted Jack's shoulder.

'Yep', Jack thought, 'He's up to something now'.

'If you, Jack Frost, official Guardian endorse it, how could they say 'no'?' Pitch smiled, ignoring Jack's discomfort.

Jack lifted the grey hand from his shoulder gently and shrugged as if in defeat.

'Okay then. Guess we're heading to the North Pole'.

'How?' Pitch asked. Frost could fly but what was he supposed to do? Swim?

'As North would say, 'buckle up'.

Before Pitch could even process the sentence properly or figure out why Jack was now the one smiling, a large hand closed around his neck. Gasping at the feeling of the leathery fingers, Pitch was lifted bodily from the ground and flung into a rough burlap sack.

From outside he heard Frost laughing 'Careful with him Phil. Pretty sure he bites'.

Pitch struggled against the material in impotent rage, trying to become insubstantial but failing. This wasn't a normal sack and that meant-

'North!' he shrieked as his stomach flipped and he felt the world swirl around him as he was teleported unceremoniously to the North Pole.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been North's idea.

Asking Pitch to meet Jack in daylight robbed him of the advantage and allowed Jack to see how sincere Pitch had been about helping. If Pitch couldn't find the children, Jack would say the code phrase 'buckle up' and Pitch would be brought to the Pole to explain himself.

Now it seemed Pitch had been brought to the Pole for a different reason. The other four Guardians listened intently as Jack explained the situation.

'-and he says there's a way to help him find them', he finished.

'What way?' North asked, stroking his beard.

'He wouldn't say unless all of you guys were here too'.

'He's up to something', Bunny said sharply.

'We all know that', Tooth said. Her visit to the cave had rattled her and seeing the Northern Lights summoning her back to the Pole had given her a sinking feeling in her stomach. Her feelings were rarely wrong.

'So much for second chances', Bunny remarked, rejecting an offer of eggnog from an elf carrying a tray of mugs.

'Now, now', North said, making a calming motion with his hands, 'Pitch has not actually done anything yet. Jack, how was he in Burgess?'

'Grumpy, sarcastic and rude'.

'Did he scare any children?' Tooth asked, her concern tempered with angry suspicion.

'Actually, no', Jack conceded, rubbing his neck.

'This is good!' North said, looking enthusiastically at the others, 'He is being more co-operative than we have ever seen him!'

'Yeah', said Bunny bitterly, 'as long as we give him what he wants'.

'Then let's hurry up and find out what this is about', Jack urged, 'Then once the kids are safe and sound, we can all go back to ignoring him and he can go back to ignoring us. You're with me aren't you Sandy?'

Sandy indicated his consent with a nod of the head and gave another nod to the eggnog elf when it offered another cup.

'Then we are agreed', North said, dusting off his hands, 'So'.

He glanced at the struggling Christmas sack on the floor of the workshop.

'Who is going to open present?'

As soon as the sack was opened (Bunny drew the shortest straw), a black shadow flew out. It quickly crawled along the floor before spiralling up to stand at the top of North's globe. It solidified into an irate Pitch.

He glared at his surroundings. Numerous yetis lined the floors around the globe, forming strong bulwarks. Accursed flying Christmas toys circled like brightly coloured fish. They looked harmless but Pitch could clearly see they had been augmented with dreamsand. One tap and he would be helpless.

'Welcome!'

Pitch gritted his teeth and curled his hands into fists at the sound of North's voice. He couldn't help it. It was so irritatingly jolly!  
They were there looking up at him. The big four. No. The big five now.  
The rabbit had a satisfactorily angry look on his face. Tooth hovered beside him, arms crossed and brow furrowed. Sandman, impassive as usual, wasn't giving anything away and seemed more interested in the drink in his hand.  
North was waving with a big smile on his face. It even looked sincere. Pitch distrusted him immensely.  
Frost was leaning casually on his staff but his blue eyes glittered with satisfaction.

'You too nervous to come down?' the boy called.

'I just enjoy looking down on insects'.

'You're not sulking about the sack are you?'

'How would you feel about it if it had been you?'

'I'm not one to hold a grudge', Jack said, sharing a nostalgic grin with North.

'Your friends can't say the same. Are you sure you wouldn't like a scratch behind the ears Bunnymund?'

'Don't you even start!' Bunny yelled before turning to his fellow Guardians, 'Knew this was a bad idea! He's gonna start making smart-ass comments and we're supposed to just stand here and take it?!'

'By all means come up here rabbit. It'll save me talking down to you. Then again you're so used to that maybe you shouldn't'.

Bunny growled and reached for one of the boomerangs mounted to his back.

'Calm down Bunny', Tooth cautioned.

As she and Bunny began to have a heated yet hushed conversation, North stepped forward.

'Pitch. I am sorry for the sack: it was my idea'.

'Is this usually how you invite guests over for tea and biscuits?' Pitch asked, gesturing at the surrounding army.

'Eggnog and cookies', North corrected good naturedly, 'Why not come down, have a drink and we will talk like civilised people yes?'

Pitch watched as an elf lapped at the tray of drinks it was holding, indiscriminately sticking its pink tongue into each mug in turn.

'Or I could prepare a quick supper?' North suggested in a sing-song voice, indicating an invitation.

'Do I have a choice?'

'Of course you do'.

North waved a hand and the yetis backed away from the railings but did not break formation.

'But I would not advise picking the wrong one', North smiled.

Pitch relaxed a little. He trusted veiled threats.

'Well this is weird', Jack stated.

North had deliberately seated them at a round table. To Pitch's left, Bunny tried not to make eye contact and to his right, Tooth contented herself with pretending he wasn't there. North was directly opposite him with Jack to North's right and Sandy to his left.  
Around them, elves in little jingling hats, carried trays of food, refilled cups and did their best to stand in ranks when not needed. There were even multi-coloured crackers on the table. Pitch prayed to whichever god would listen that they would get through the meal without one bad joke or anyone having to wear a paper crown.

'Thank you for pointing that out Frost', Pitch said, 'I'm sure it had completely escaped everyone else's notice'.

'No kidding', Bunny agreed, his concurrent feelings eclipsing his hatred of the boogeyman for the first time in history.

'But is weird in good way', North said happily, gesturing with his fork, 'Pitch Black sitting at my table, not trying to destroy anything!'

'Indeed', Pitch said, idly stirring his soup.  
Vegetable soup was disappointing. It lacked the satisfying ghost of fear that meat held.  
There was meat on the table but he had no appetite for a Christmas dinner, especially not in October and not featuring a turkey that appeared to have been cut up with a chainsaw. Besides, the two yetis flanking his chair and the other two at the door leading to the workshop made him feel a bit on edge.  
Bunny and Tooth were playing it safe, eating juicy vegetables and a fruit salad respectively. Sandy, North and Jack were all eating a bit of everything. Pitch wondered if a speed eating competition had been declared between the three beforehand.

'Perhaps all this good behaviour could see me removed from the Naughty List for good', Pitch voiced while wondering how Jack was still so skinny. He had already had two full plates of food!

North laughed loud and long but made no comment. Nobody else laughed.

'Anyway', Tooth interjected, sounding altogether too chirpy, 'How'd the search go Jack? Find anything?'

'No'.

'Really?' Bunnymund asked, glaring sideways at Pitch, 'Why's that?'

'It's not Pitch's fault Bunny. We looked around and he couldn't sense anything'.

'Couldn't or wouldn't?'

'Oh. Déjà vu', Pitch commented, taking a sip of soup.

'Couldn't', Jack asserted, 'But he says he has an idea of how we can find them'.

'What idea?' Tooth asked.

'Quid pro quo first of all', Pitch said, steepling his fingers, soup forgotten, 'You said I could have Halloween'.

'Yes. You still can. Provided you help us. That was deal', North affirmed.

'In that case before I assist you any further, I have a request', Pitch said.

He wiped his mouth and stood up. The yetis stood to attention but North raised a hand to calm them. Pitch nodded gratefully and began to circle the table as he spoke.

'First of all, my heartfelt thanks to Jack Frost for giving me this opportunity and to North for his hospitality'.

Bunny scoffed at the speech. Pitch ignored him.

'I am glad to see that we are capable of being civil despite our…'

He paused for a moment to linger on Sandy. Sandy didn't blink.

'Differences shall we say? And I look forward to working with you all closely to find the missing children of Burgess'.

'Hear hear!' North said. He loved a speech and this one seemed to be wonderfully short. It didn't matter who was making it.

'But-'

'Here it comes', Bunny said.

'I require something from one of you to help me'.

A gold question mark glowing above Sandy's head prompted Pitch to continue.

'It's a bigger job than I thought and as any craftsman will tell you', Pitch gestured at North, 'this means I need better tools. Besides, if I'm finally going to be able to enjoy Halloween again, I want to enjoy it the way I used to'.

Tooth's feathers rose as her body tensed. He couldn't be-

'Back when I was strong'.

Tooth began to hand a waiting elf her empty plate, trying to stop her hands shaking.

'Back when I had-'.

Pitch was suddenly behind her and Tooth heard the word echo in her mind as he spoke into her ear.

'Teeth'.

He knew!  
Tooth dropped her plate. The elf didn't catch it in time and it shattered, pieces of crockery spinning across the floor.

Bunny jumped up in surprise at both the loud noise and Pitch's sudden movement but the boogeyman was already standing by the large fireplace on the back wall.

'What's the matter Tooth?' Jack asked, he had grabbed his staff on reflex.

'You don't know what you're asking!' Tooth cried, taking flight so she could keep a better eye on Pitch's location.

'Did you think I wouldn't notice?' Pitch said, steel in every word, 'After all this time?!'

'Tooth, what is he talking about?' North demanded, gesturing to a nearby yeti to clean up the mess on the floor.

Sandy floated up and touched Tooth's shoulder. She looked at him and seeing his calm expression, visibly relaxed. They both lowered themselves back to earth. A tooth appeared above Sandy's head and he pointed at Pitch who bowed sarcastically in acknowledgement.

'His teeth?' Jack asked, surprised.

'That's what you want?' Bunny was confused too, 'Why?'

'Why did you want yours?' Pitch asked Jack.

'To find out where I came from. Who I was'.

'And am I not entitled to do some reminiscing if I feel like it?'

Sandy shook his head fiercely in response. A sand conjured padlock snapped shut with the turn of a golden key above his head.

'You knew as well did you?' Pitch laughed bitterly, 'I thought it was only Toothiana and the Man in the Moon. I suppose being a mute makes it easier to keep secrets!'

'Dunno why you want 'em', Bunny said slowly, fingers twitching for a boomerang, 'but you think we're just gonna hand 'em over, you've got another thing coming!'

Turning his back on the Guardians, Pitch looked into the fire. As he spoke, his golden eyes reflected the flames like a seer gazing into a crystal ball.

'That's fine. Back to square one then. I'll go back to my lair. You'll go back to frolicking or whatever it is you do and poor Jack will sit in his gingerbread house, wondering how he'll ever explain to Jamie that he'll never see his friends again'.

'You weren't any help with that anyway!' Bunny shouted. He was close to losing his patience.

'But I could be. That's the point', Pitch turned to entreat Tooth face to face, 'All I ask is that you give me what's mine'.

'I'll give you something you deserve', Bunny growled, cracking his knuckles, 'I'd enjoy it'.

'I would love to see you try rabbit', Pitch said through bared teeth, 'I could use a new rug'.

'Enough!'

North's booming voice halted the impending scuffle.

'You want to fight, go outside. I warn you though'.

He pulled back one of the richly decorated, thick curtains covering the large windows. Even from inside, the force of the Arctic wind rattled the panes.

'Is a little chilly out', North smirked, dropping the curtain back into place, 'Now, I must confess I am not sure what is going on. The sad effects of old age. Pitch, would you mind if we talk this over in next room before deciding?'

'I'll be here', Pitch said as he sat in one of the armchairs beside the fire. As the other Guardians left the room, he helped himself to a walnut from a nearby bowl. He ate it without having to crack the shell and smiled as the yetis and elves winced at the noise.

'What did you guys take from him?' Jack asked Tooth and Sandy.

All five of them had gone into an adjacent storeroom. North had picked it for its thick walls and lack of a keyhole. No reason to give Pitch any opportunities for eavesdropping.

'For a long time now, every Halloween, Manny has been restricting Pitch's powers', Tooth said quickly, as if to spit the words out before her nerve failed her.

Stunned silence greeted Tooth's announcement. She took it as a cue to continue.

'Sandy puts him to sleep, Manny shines moonlight into Pitch's lair and absorbs some of the fear he's accumulated and I store it in his teeth for safe keeping'.

'Why did you not tell us?' North asked. He sat beside Tooth on an old sofa and touched her hand. He didn't blame anybody. It wasn't in his nature. But it hurt him that Tooth and Sandy had chosen to carry the burden alone.

'The plan was made up when Sandy and I were the only two Guardians. There was no reason to get the rest of you involved once you joined'.

'Manny thought this up?' Bunnymund asked, suddenly not so sure he knew their lunar benefactor as well as he thought he did. He remembered when he had been, thankfully temporarily, depowered. It had been the worst day of his life but at least he had been aware of it.

Jack was quiet. He knew the Man in the Moon worked in mysterious ways but taking someone's powers? That didn't sit well with him. Then again, Pitch had been a real threat. But, what if things had turned out the way he had theorised with Bunny on the balcony? What if he had gone rogue? Would he have woken up one day unable to fly?

'I thought he lost his powers because people stopped believing in him?' he said, trying to make sense of what was being revealed to him.

'That's what I thought but think about it', Bunnymund said, his head resting on a paw thoughtfully, 'Pitch ain't like us Jack. People don't have to believe in fear: it's inside them whether they want it or not'.

'Our work inspiring people to not to be afraid helped', Tooth explained, 'But Manny wanted to keep Pitch under tighter control. That's why he took Halloween from Pitch to begin with'.

Tooth looked at Sandy and he waved for her to go on. She sighed gratefully. It felt so good to get this out in the open!

'Pitch did so much damage every year: stalking children disguised as some horrible monster or scaring them half to death by showing up in mirrors. Manny used his moonlight to make sure Pitch couldn't move as freely. But it was also lunar magic designed to drain Pitch of power. He turned it on him on Halloween every year, when he was supposed to be most active. As you all know, by the time we were all Guardians, Pitch couldn't be seen anymore'.

'So where do his teeth come in?' North asked.

'They hold his memories of when he was strong', Tooth said, 'Manny gave them to me to keep safe'.

'So what happens if Pitch gets his hands on them?' Jack asked, unsure whether he wanted to know the answer.

Tooth looked at him thoughtfully.

'Do you remember how good you felt after you saw the memories of your sister Jack?'

'Yeah'.

'You're smiling now just thinking about it. Good memories are powerful because they can recreate feelings that make you feel so happy you could burst. They can heal people's souls. Can you imagine what Pitch could do with a lifetime's worth of his memories? You can probably guess what kind of memories they are'.

Jack could and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. But he wasn't about to let it show.

'We've beaten him before', he said, spinning his staff cockily, 'If he gets out of line, we'll do it again!'

'Jack, you don't understand', Tooth said, placing a hand on the staff, 'When we fought Pitch before, he was using Sandy's powers, not his own. The dreamsand fought his influence the whole time so he still wasn't as powerful as he should've been. If he draws energy from the teeth and gets his own powers back…'

'We'll be right back in the Dark Ages', Bunny concluded gravely.

'What could he do then that he can't do now?' North asked Sandy.

Sandy summoned the image of Pitch's silhouette. Before their collective eyes, he transformed it into a bird, a wolf, a rat and finally a spider before reverting it to Pitch's default form.

'Oh great!' Bunny cried, 'A shape shifter. As if he wasn't two faced enough! What's to stop him from running amok even after Halloween?!'

'That's the good news', Tooth said, 'The power of his teeth is limited once the box is opened. After all they're only memories of what he used to be and memories fade. But he could still do a lot of damage before that happens and if he keeps the teeth, they'll recharge if he keeps the box closed'.

'He doesn't know that though right?' Jack asked Sandy.

A pair of crossed fingers appeared over Sandy's head and he crossed his real fingers as well.

'Then we make sure he doesn't keep them', Jack said, jumping on top of a nearby box.

'How?' Tooth asked, perplexed.

'We let him look but don't touch. We'll open it for him in Burgess Park tomorrow night. Solves both problems: he gets his powers back for Halloween and you don't have to give him his teeth to do it'.

North gave a whoop of triumph.

'And if he is in Burgess, we can keep him there!' he said.

'Our snow globe plan's ready?' Jack asked, smiling.

'Ready to go! Sandy, can we reinforce with dreamsand for safety?'

The Sandman gave two thumbs up.

'There we go! Even if Pitch decides to use his powers to break it, dreamsand puts everyone under dome to sleep, including him. By time he wakes up, powers gone! Poof!'

An hour later, the Guardians and Pitch stood in front of the Guardian stone as it rose from the floor. Pitch had agreed to the Guardian's counter offer with minimal grumbling. He didn't know what they saw in Burgess but in the end it didn't matter really where they wanted to hand him his teeth. The wait would make his hunger sharper and his meal more satisfying when it came. Besides, there would be something poetic about him returning to full strength on Halloween itself.

The blue crystal shone with dancing lights, chasing all shadows from the room.

Pitch's lip curled at the sight of it.

'What is the point of this again?'

'Just to make new terms of agreement official', North said, 'We swear by the Guardian stone we will give you the power held within your teeth and you swear to help Jack Frost find the missing children'.

Above them, the moon moved into view.

'Look who's here', Pitch sneered, 'Still checking up on me'.

'We're more than capable of doing that', Bunny said, 'Manny's just here as a witness'.

Each Guardian laid their hand on the stone in turn, pledging to honour the promise. Finally it was Pitch's turn.

The crystal grew cold under his touch, recognising that it was not the hand of a Guardian.

'I will help Jack Frost find the missing children of Burgess', he said but in his mind, darker promises silently reared their heads.

_I promise to become the Nightmare King once more. _

'I will not wilfully harm humans, damage the area or attempt to harm any Guardian in the vicinity'.

_I promise to enjoy the misery of people everywhere. _

'I will remain in Burgess for the night of Halloween and not leave the city limits once I have entered'.

_I promise to spite you for what you did to me and what you have stolen! _

'I, Pitch Black swear to abide by the terms of this contract'.

_And I promise I will laugh as you watch me tear your world to pieces!_


	6. Chapter 6

The Halloween sunset was as orange as the plastic jack o' lanterns decorating the park. Each one had a battery powered candle in it and had been strategically placed along each side of the main path through the area.  
Pitch walked in the direction of Jack Frost's cabin.  
A cold wind blew and scattered brown leaves across his path. He eyed the pumpkins critically. They were (for lack of a better word) soulless. Nobody had carved them carefully by hand and the flames inside were fake. It reminded him of himself. Once real and terrifying: now a literal shadow of his former self.  
As he looked up, he could see the sun touching the tops of the trees. It would be dark soon.  
Finally, he would be himself again.  
As he passed a wall, he noticed more graffiti. Another shadowy figure, this time with words of warning painted beneath it.  
_Beware the Nightmare Man!  
_He despised the image. As much as he hated to admit it (and never would to Frost), the image unnerved him. It was too similar to-  
Pitch shook his head.  
This was idiotic! He was responsible for most of the things humans were afraid of! And most of those things were big and black with claws. This didn't mean anything. It was just a Halloween prank. For all he knew, it was a child's attempt to poorly recreate his likeness: perhaps one of the boy Jamie's friends? They had all had a good look at him last Easter.  
The thought that he may still be haunting a child's nightmares without trying made him feel better and he couldn't resist a giggle.  
'Just wait until I start trying', he whispered darkly.

Jack Frost was waiting for him.  
'What are you wearing?' Pitch asked, unsure whether to laugh or slap his own forehead.  
Jack jumped down from his treehouse, his black, bat like cape flapping behind him.  
He still carried his staff and was displaying his usual aversion to footwear but Jack had decided to dress for the occasion. Thanks to North, he thought he really looked the part. He wore evening dress: complete with golden watch and chain tucked into the pocket of a blue silk jacket. His trousers were black silk to match his long cape that came with a large pointed collar. When he smiled, he flashed sharp canine teeth.

'I'm a vampire'.

'Why are you dressed up when nobody can see you?'

'The kids can and it's their night after all'.

'Not for long', Pitch thought before saying, 'So where shall we do this?'

He was trying to appear calm but the thought that his teeth were about to be handed over had him champing at the metaphorical bit.

'Hold on. You know the rules. You don't get anything without a costume'.

'This is my costume', Pitch said, sweeping his arms out and doing a turn.

'Scary', Jack said, raising an eyebrow, 'What do you really look like then?'

Pitch gave a nasty smile.

'You'll find out'.

Jack had decided the pond was the best place to hand over the teeth. Tooth had warned him she wasn't sure how Pitch's body would react to having all that power returned at once. The closest analogy she could give was an adrenaline shot or sugar high. When Jack had accidentally laughed at the thought of Pitch giggling and acting goofy, Tooth had (fittingly enough) chewed him out. She had then unlocked the box and left Jack alone, to come to terms with what she was doing. Jack had left without another word, silently promising not to let Tooth down.

The lake wasn't frozen, so the pair walked round to the far bank and entered a clearing. Jack flew up to check their position. This was good. They were pretty far away from the path and the festival was only a short way away. Jack had decided that's where they would begin the search: lots of people meant the more chance they had of finding the kidnapper as well as keeping an eye on the other kids.  
'So where are the others?' Pitch asked.

'Don't worry. Private party. Just like I promised'.

'And do you have my gift?'

Jack, for a change, was conscious of the cold. The box in his jacket hadn't felt right since Tooth had given it to him. He swore he had felt it move a couple of times while he had been waiting in the treehouse. He was almost glad to hand it over but then reminded himself he couldn't let Pitch keep it. He had to do this fast and hope Pitch wouldn't notice the hiding place Jack had chosen.  
He reached into his pocket and took out the box. It felt oily in his hands.

Pitch couldn't contain a gasping laugh of delight and surprise.  
There it was. He could hear it whisper to him, demanding to be reunited with him.  
Licking his dry lips, he held out a shaking hand.  
'Give them to me Jack'.

'You want them?' Jack offered.  
Pitch was a black shape against the sunset but Jack could feel the boogeyman's eyes burning. He would have to be fast.  
'Take them!' Jack yelled and clicked open the box.

At first there was a strange absence of sound. As if time had frozen. Leaves fell from the trees in slow motion and birdsong from the undergrowth was discordant and shrill.  
Then all hell broke loose.  
Shadows erupted from the box, enveloping a waiting Pitch who stared seemingly awestruck at the black tide as it rushed around him. Suddenly he screamed and his limbs became taut. He began to levitate as the shadows became a swirling black vortex. The scream became a primal roar of an awakened animal and Pitch's eyes blazed golden with barely contained power. As Jack watched, the black fabric of Pitch's cloak flaked away like ash to reveal golden flames crawling on the cloth, granting his robe a rich looking trim. A black staff manifested in Pitch's hand and he gripped it with clawed fingers.  
A laugh began to echo in the clearing, coming from everywhere at once. It sounded mad. It laughed at nothing and everything. It was a laugh of triumph and despair. The hysterical laugh of the terrified. Pitch was exulting in it.

Jack knew it had to be now: while Pitch was distracted. He clutched the box tight and threw it over the trees. He saw it land in the lake and sink.

As Jack turned back to face whatever was in the shadows, the dark figure turned to him. Pitch seemed more solid now: darkness in physical form. His cloak billowed behind him but too slowly for the tempest to be the cause. His eyes were the eyes of a predator and when he smiled, he revealed his jagged teeth. When he spoke, his voice was powered with the strength of ages. It was the voice of a king.

'What's the matter Frost? Scared?'

The shadowy whirlwind did not abate and Jack had to scream over the din of the rushing wind.

'No!'

And his voice was unnaturally loud.  
The tornado had disappeared as quickly as it had come.  
He looked up at the taller figure of Pitch Black.

'Didn't North ever tell you it's wrong to lie?' Pitch said calmly, examining his staff, returned to him after so long.

'It's not a lie!'

Pitch leant down. Jack could see himself reflected in Pitch's eyes. As he watched, his image was swallowed whole by shadows that moved within the boogeyman's pupils.

'In that case I pity your stupidity. Goodbye Frost'.

The ground around Pitch's cloak came alive. The long shadows cast by the sunset swam through the air at Jack, trying to grab him. He jumped clear, only to be confronted with more hiding between the branches of the trees. As he swatted them desperately, he realised they were trying to get to the pocket he had kept the teeth in. He saw Pitch take flight with huge black wings he had grown from his back.

'We had a deal Pitch! You're gonna regret this!' Jack yelled, dodging another blow.

Pitch just cocked his head and smirked.

'I don't think so. But you will'.

With a flap of his wings, Pitch soared into the darkening sky for the first time in hundreds of years.  
He felt alive again!  
Swooping into a diving somersault, he pulled up and flew towards the clouds.  
He couldn't believe he was free! The shadows would reclaim his teeth soon enough and then nothing could stop him!  
It made little sense to stay in Burgess now. He would save it for last. It could be the last light the Guardians could rally around and this time there wouldn't be any miracles! Miracles were useless against the devil! No, not a devil, more of a go-  
He smacked into an invisible wall.  
Confused at the sudden pain in his nose, he took a closer look at the clouds he had been flying towards and saw a ghostly reflection of himself returning the bewildered gaze.  
Glass?  
Almost like-  
'A snowglobe? A snowglobe!'

Pitch cursed in anger but then spontaneously burst into laughter.  
'A Christmas toy is all you have?!' he cackled.  
He swung his staff back and concentrated. The twisted top began to unfurl and curve until it had become a fearsome black bladed scythe.  
Raising it above his head, he prepared to swing. Only to be distracted by the last beams of sunlight catching on a substance coating the other side of the glass.  
He cringed away, shaking his head in freshly rebounding fury as he recognised the golden grains. Dreamsand!

Glaring down, he saw the tiny figure of Jack Frost dispatch the last of the shadows with a powerful ice blast. Their eyes met and the boy began to soar upwards, staff in both hands and a pale light shining at the tip.  
Pitch had other ideas.  
Swooping downwards, he turned at the last second to avoid a collision in mid-air. He caught a look of Frost's bewildered face as he saw Pitch plummet towards the ground. As he neared the earth, Pitch concentrated. If he couldn't go over…  
The ground was five feet away.  
Then he would go….  
Two feet away.  
Under!

Phasing underground had always felt like breaking the surface of water backwards. Pitch opened his eyes, expecting to see the inside of his lair. Would it look smaller now?  
He saw a grassy tunnel stretch before him. On the walls were strange tribal markings that depicted children gathering eggs. A large rabbit stood with them.  
Pitch heard an ominous rumbling from down the tunnel. Moving as a shadow, he flew in the other direction but just as he slithered, the tunnel seemed to warp and twist in response. He found himself right back in front of the same painting. As he struck the wall with his scythe, decapitating the stone bunny, he heard the real one's voice echo from an unseen place.  
'Sorry mate. Keep trying that and you'll end up deeper down the rabbit hole'.  
Pitch felt the floor fall away beneath him but paradoxically felt open air on his face as he was spat back into Burgess.

Pitch hit the ground with a thud.  
Jack landed more lightly beside him.  
Jack got down on his haunches and poked Pitch in the head with his staff.

'Do you want whipped cream with that humble pie?' he asked the still boogeyman.

Pitch moved like lightning. A large serpent hissed at Jack and encircled him. Jack jumped free and into the air just as the coils crushed inwards. Even as Jack landed, a lean, black wolf was upon him. Using his staff as leverage under Pitch's throat, Jack tried to push him back as he snapped at his face. Pitch's claws scraped his cheek and Jack felt blood run down his face.

Suddenly, the weight distribution changed. Pitch was slumping down, making odd movements as if stepping on hot coals. He leapt away from Jack and snarled as he doubled up in pain. With an angry growl, Pitch collapsed and folded back into his humanoid shape.

'What's happening to me?!' he growled, his voicebox not fully human again and wracked with pain.

'Remember you promised to help me find those kids?' Jack said, standing up, rubbing his face. At his touch, the wound disappeared in a small cloud of ice.

'You-' Pitch snarled. He was burning!

'Not me Pitch. You did it to yourself!' Jack yelled, 'Tell me something: you regretting it yet?'

Pitch gritted his teeth as another spasm went through him. Jack knelt down to him, making sure Pitch was listening to him.

'When you make a promise on the Guardian stone, there aren't any takebacks and no fingers crossed behind your back! If there are, all that spite gets directed right back at you!'

Mercifully, Pitch felt the pain gradually subsiding. He gasped as he felt his muscles break their deadlock.  
So that was it. The stone hadn't just been a formality.

'You tricked me'.

'So it's okay when you do it?'

Pitch got unsteadily to his feet, surreptitiously using his staff for support.

'I'm not the hero of this story Frost'.

'Yeah, yeah you just proved that. You touched the stone so we're all playing by the rules of the deal. Manny's referee and he's keeping a close eye on things. We're stuck with each other for the night'.

Pitch looked down at Jack, the shadows lengthening around them as the last rays of the sun vanished.

'I'll find your brats but you promised me-'

'I know', Jack interrupted as he turned to leave the clearing, 'I promised you scares and you'll get them. Trust me. I'm not you after all'.

Pitch nodded. Once again he had underestimated Jack Frost: 'Fool me twice' he thought bitterly. The boy was beyond his power, for the moment at least. Fine. Pitch would live with a stalemate. It was only a temporary situation anyway. His powers had returned and that was victory enough to start the evening. But nobody had said anything about what he could or could not do with them after Halloween.  
Frost would let his guard down and Pitch would take his teeth back forever. It was just a matter of time. He just had to remember that.

'It's odd Frost. I hate you more than ever and yet this plan was so underhanded, I may actually be starting to respect you'.

'That's real sweet of you. Now let's put it behind us huh? After all', Jack pulled back a tree, exposing the lights of the festival, 'we're going to a party'.

Pitch crossed his arms, unimpressed.

'They have candy apples?' Jack sang.

'I hope they have razor blades inside', Pitch sang back.

'That's just a myth isn't it?'

'Yes', Pitch said, 'Like Jack Frost and the Boogeyman'.

'Fun fun fun', Jack said to himself, following Pitch as he stalked towards the lights of the festival.

In the darkness of the lake, the teeth waited. Someone would find them soon. Someone familiar. Then they would have what they craved. Then they could make children scream again. Then they would be whole again.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack thought the park looked great.  
The place was packed with people in costumes and the hot food being served at various stalls was doing its job keeping the chill in the air at bay. Colourful paper lanterns hung from the bare branches of trees and music was playing on a PA system.  
The atmosphere was totally different from what he and Pitch had seen outside the school. Adults laughed and joked as kids ran between legs with sacks of candy.  
Even if Pitch and he had been visible, they wouldn't have stood out. Large posters advertising a 'Best Costume' contest along with a cash prize for the winner had seen to that.  
As they entered the first row of stalls, he set out his gameplan while Pitch cast a critical eye at his first modern Halloween. To him, Halloween meant people being afraid to leave their homes: not an excuse for frivolity and over indulgence of snack foods.

'Okay', Jack said, counting the facts on his fingers, 'We know the kids disappeared from this area. The park's got adult volunteers at each entrance keeping an eye on things'.

Pitch nodded slightly and kept walking.

'We'll start by searching here. Get all the information we can. Jamie and his friends are gonna be here so we can talk to them all at once'.

He paused to clear his throat uncomfortably: it had to be said.

'Well I guess I'll be doing the talking since they can't, well… see you. But then again I guess if I talk to them, you can search the area right?'

Pitch just nodded again.

'The others disappeared at this time of the month so - hey, are you listening to me?'

Jack hovered in front of Pitch and waved a hand an inch from his nose. Pitch stopped dead, rolling his eyes.

'Hellooo? Am I boring you? Or is it 'cause I mentioned they can't see you?'

Pitch shot him an annoyed look and pointedly kicked the leg of a nearby table. A plastic bowl of brightly wrapped candy spilled over the grass. The elderly lady managing the stall tutted impatiently.

'Has that leg gone again?'

'Please let me help you', Pitch said, bowing, suddenly all charm and smiles.

The lady smiled gratefully and straightened her witch's hat.

'Thank you. So nice to see a helpful young man'.

Jack's jaw hit the floor.

'I know. You just can't get the help these days', Pitch said, bending down to clean up the mess.

'I like your costume', she said.

'Thank you. It's old but I'm very fond of it'.

After helping the old lady pick up the scattered treats, Pitch led Frost behind one of the stalls.

'You trying to catch flies? I apologize for not wanting people to think I have an imaginary friend', he smirked, examining his nails smugly.

'People can see you?!'

'Frost, I'm the boogeyman', Pitch deadpanned, 'Who do people expect to see on Halloween even if they hope not to?'

'Makes sense', Jack conceded, rubbing the back of his neck.

'You should be happy. Investigations always go better if people can see who's asking them questions'.

'Yeah', Jack said, grimacing, 'It's just, you made a bit of an impression last time you were here'.

'Only to a group of children who have most likely forgotten the whole thing', Pitch shrugged, unconcerned.

'It was a big impression Pitch'.

'Well, that's why you're here isn't it? To play diplomat? While you're at it, can you answer a question for me?'

'Sure: shoot', Jack said, joining Pitch as he peeked round the corner of the stall.

Pitch flung an accusing finger towards the crowds wandering between the stalls.

'Why are there little girls dressed as fairy princesses?'

'You were expecting little boys dressed as fairy princesses?'

'What is frightening about a sumo wrestler?!'

'What's not frightening about a sumo wrestler?'

'Shut up Frost!' Pitch snapped as Jack shrugged light heartedly.

'Quit complaining. Bet people are wondering who you're supposed to be'.

'Halloween costumes are supposed to be scary!'

'Pitch, it's kinda hard to be scary when you're five years old and trying to bum candy off people'.

Pitch didn't seem to hear him. He strode back into the crowd, muttering to himself. Jack hovered above him. It didn't hurt when people walked through him but it tingled like pins and needles.

'What is that cape made of? Plastic?! People used to work on their costumes for months!'

'Why?'

'The belief was that if the costume was scary it would scare away evil spirits. It never worked but it was nice to see people make an effort!'

'Well it looks like the whole 'not trying' thing seems to be working much better', Jack said, amused at Pitch's frustration, 'You're having a bit of a tantrum here'.

'I am not-!'

Pitch lowered his voice as a nearby stall holder looked for who was raising their voice.

'Having a 'tantrum'', he whispered.

They passed a carnival game which involved throwing rubber spiders into a set of holes for points.

Jack perched on top of the counter and poked one of the spiders. It squeaked.

'Yeah you are', he laughed, 'You look like you're ready to storm off. This is a world class tanty'.

'You want to see a tantrum?!' Pitch rounded, clicking his fingers.

The rubber spiders instantly came to life. Googly eyes became sets of very real, moist eyes and the grey smooth skin suddenly bristled with itchy black fur. Teeth dripped with inky liquid and each leg ended in a nasty looking point. Jack jumped up in surprise as they began to scuttle to freedom, crawling over people's feet.  
Pitch smiled, immensely pleased with himself. He'd always enjoyed the spider trick. Always good for a light snack of fear. Even if he had to put up with Frost, there was no reason he couldn't enjoy himself.  
There were the usual rewarding shrieks but then unexpectedly (and disastrously for Pitch) cries of laughter from the crowd.  
There was even some applause.  
A nearby couple dressed as Dorothy and the Scarecrow from 'The Wizard of Oz', identified Pitch as the culprit.

'That was incredible!' said Scarecrow, 'Are you the entertainment for tonight?'

'No. I'm…freelance', Pitch lied, puzzled. This was not the reaction he had been expecting.

'Well that was really something!' Scarecrow said, his floppy hat bouncing due to his enthusiasm.

'Did it scare you at all?' Pitch asked.

'Yeah at the start but then we realised it wasn't real'.

'Wasn't real?' Pitch repeated quietly after a moment's hesitation. Jack looked at him.

'Don't worry', 'Dorothy' said reassuringly, 'you had everybody fooled! Hope to see you at the closing ceremony!'

Dorothy and the Scarecrow walked away, still giggling about the 'trick'. Pitch watched them leave with a furrowed brow.

'You okay?' Jack asked.

He knew that look. The day he had helped Jamie sled down main street only to be inadvertently upstaged by a lost tooth came to mind. The hurt he had felt when the kids had walked right through him despite everything he had done.

'I'm fine', came the stiff reply, 'Let's get on with this shall we?'

'Yeah sure. Jamie's waiting by the big clock'.

As they walked away, Jack spared a glance for the only person who hadn't laughed. The poor owner of the game stall was chasing after the spiders as they scrambled desperately for the undergrowth.

'It must be tough', Jack thought, 'To be visible and still have nobody see you'.

Something else was watching the unlucky stall owner as he blundered through the bushes.  
It could smell his fear and it knew everything.  
It knew he hated spiders. He had hated spiders ever since his older brother had put one in his bed as a joke. He hated their glistening eyes and hairy legs. The way they scuttled in dark corners.  
He was afraid even thinking about the ones he was chasing, though he was pretty sure they were fake. His boss had probably teamed up with that magician to get back at him for his bad punctuality record.  
The creature had been lured into the open by the smell of adrenaline and excitement. The breeze had carried the intoxicating perfume to its lair.  
It ghosted the stall owner's clumsy steps as he wandered further from the burning lights the creature hated. Further from safety.  
He didn't even get a chance to scream before he was swallowed whole.  
As the creature finished its meal, it sensed something else. Something familiar and hidden, calling to it from the depths of a watery prison. The creature still driven, as it had always been, by insatiable hunger, moved towards the shadowy voice and the promises of power it whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

Jamie and Monty were already standing underneath the large stone pillar that housed the park's clock.  
Jamie was dressed as a yeti and Monty had gone for a mad scientist, complete with hair gel that made his mop of blonde hair stick up like an electrified hedgehog. They were both glancing around at the crowd, obviously waiting for the planned meeting.  
Jack and Pitch moved behind a group of tall trees just off the path.

'At least they've made an effort with their costumes. Obviously homemade yet effective', Pitch critiqued.

'High praise coming from you', Jack said.

'I just mean their attempts aren't as terrible as some of the others I've seen'.

'That's more like it. Maybe you'd better stay here? Let me ease them in'.

'They're already seen me Frost'.

'Yeah. But I don't think they were expecting to see you again so soon'.

Rolling his eyes, Pitch dissolved his staff into shadow. He leapt into the air and landed on a low wall as a sleek black cat. His yellow eyes narrowed at Jack as he lifted a front paw questioningly.

'Very seasonal', Jack approved, 'I'll signal you when you can come over okay?'

'Meow', Pitch enunciated perfectly.

'Here goes', Jack said and flew towards the group.

Pitch walked along the wall until he could get a good look at the meeting. He saw Jamie and Monty wave at Jack as he landed. He jumped down beside a crate of pumpkins so he could get closer. It was a good thing the area was so crowded: nobody was taking any notice of the boys talking to thin air. Why did Jack keep forgetting that? You'd think hundreds of years of being ignored would've beaten it into his skull by now!  
A sudden noise to his left made him turn his head.  
A little girl with messy yellow hair was kneeling down and staring at him. Her bright green eyes peeked out from between layers of bandages. She beamed, showing gaps in her white teeth as she reached for him.

'Kitty!'

'Uh oh', Pitch thought.

'Hi Jack!' the boys chorused.

'Hey Jamie! Hey Monty! Great costumes!'

'You look great too! Cool teeth!' Monty complimented.

'Thanks; you're the first person to say that'.

'It's great that we're finally gonna find the guys!' Jamie said, raring to go.

'That's not all', Jack said, trying to sound enthusiastic, 'I brought in some reinforcements'.

'Cool! Is it the Easter Bunny?!' Jamie asked, excitedly looking around for the lapine warrior.

'Not exactly', Jack said 'Actually it's-'

'Kitty! Kitty!' Sophie sang, interrupting Jack as a black blur raced behind his legs.  
Sophie stumbled behind it, her mummy toilet paper bandages trailing on the ground.

'Uh oh', thought Jack as he realised he knew what the blur had been.

Jamie tried to help. Sophie just couldn't resist fuzzy animals and they had a much harder job resisting her affections. He also didn't want Sophie tripping on her bandages.

'Sophie, no!' Jamie begged as the duo ran rings around the group, 'Don't pull his-!'

As Sophie yanked on his tail, Pitch let out a yowl that quickly turned into a human shout of pain.

'What the-?' Jamie cried.

Deciding he had definitely had enough of the charade, Pitch shed the cat disguise and pivoting, snatched the end of his cloak that Sophie was now holding. There were gasps of surprise from the children and the distinctive sound of Jack slapping his own forehead.  
Thankfully nobody outside the group had noticed the lightning quick transformation.

'Enough!' Pitch snarled at the gobsmacked Sophie, 'Don't you know bad little children get punished?!'

'It's you', Monty whimpered in shock.

'Well spotted!' Pitch exclaimed, clapping his hands in mock praise.

'Jack, what's he doing here?' Jamie asked urgently.

'I thought you were preparing them?!' Pitch snapped at Jack.

'You didn't really give me a lotta time!' Jack retorted, raising his hands in defence.

'That's not my fault! Would you go away?!'

He pulled back from Sophie's searching fingers as Jamie tried simultaneously to pull her away.

'Get over here Soph!' Jamie grunted as he tried to keep hold of his sister, 'Don't go near him!'

'Yes please', Jack said, trying to calm the situation. He was worried that the fear the kids were displaying might signal a dinner bell for Pitch.  
Only one member of the group wasn't showing any fear at all.

'Want the kitty!' Sophie declared, still trying to wriggle out of her brother's grip.

'I think you need something more durable', Pitch smirked, his teeth visibly lengthening and his fingers growing curved claws, 'How about a nice, big teddy bear?'

'Pitch!' Jack put himself between the kids and the boogyman and brought his staff up.

'Everybody quit it!'

The group turned five collective heads towards the source of the authoritative voice as it marched towards them.

'Now what's goin' on?' Cupcake finished, hands placed firmly on her hips. She may have been wearing a pink ballerina costume with a rhinestone tiara perched on her head but she had all the bearings of a stern queen accustomed to chopping people's heads off.

'Oh wonderful', Pitch thought snidely, 'A fairy princess Cupcake. Yes, that's what I think of when someone says 'Halloween''.

'Pitch is back Cupcake!' Monty cried, pointing frantically at the subject of the discussion.

Cupcake gave the boogeyman a cursory scan from the top his head to his feet. She looked unimpressed.

'So?'

'Whaddya mean 'so'?' Monty exclaimed.

'Quite', Pitch agreed. Despite himself, he couldn't help but feel offended.

'If he wants to come back for another butt kicking that's up to him', Cupcake shrugged but then raised a fist at Pitch menacingly, 'But if we find out he's got something to do with Pippa, Caleb and Claude goin' missing, he'll get one anyway'.

'Who wants a hot chocolate?!' Jack unintentionally yelled into the resultant ringing silence.

A few minutes later, they were sitting round a park picnic table, sipping hot chocolate. Pitch was being forced to hold Jack's up for him when he wanted a drink to avoid having to explain the phenomenon of a floating cup.  
Pitch didn't even know why Jack was drinking hot chocolate anyway! Wasn't he a winter spirit? Wouldn't it melt his insides or something?  
Jack for his part was reliving unpleasant memories of the awkward Christmas dinner of the day before. Anytime Pitch was around food it was like having a ghost at a banquet!

'So, he's helping us now?' Monty asked. He had chosen the seat furthest away from Pitch and as the boogeyman raised an eyebrow at him, he sank further into his chair.

'Yeah', Jack said.

'Why?' Jamie asked.

'He promised to behave himself', Jack explained.  
He felt uncomfortable leaving out the finer details but reconciled himself with the fact that this statement wasn't (strictly speaking) a lie. He was pretty sure it wouldn't land him on North's 'naughty' list.

'And bribery and blackmail work wonders', Pitch muttered, flashing Jack an angry look.  
Jack smiled entreatingly at him. Pitch responded by throwing his still half full hot chocolate into the bin.

'So the other Guardians can't help?' Monty asked, 'It has to be him?'

'If you think quarters or chocolate eggs will help you find your friends then maybe I should leave', Pitch stated.

Jack was worried Monty was going to fall through the chair. Even his ears were blushing under Pitch's withering glare.

'No', he said in a small voice.

'So was he was with you yesterday?' Jamie asked Jack.

'Yes I was and yes I am here right now', Pitch snapped.  
He was visible now: there were no longer any excuses for talking about him as if he wasn't there!

'Sorry and also sorry for yesterday', Jamie said, 'I didn't see you'.

'Anyway', Jack said, before Pitch could fathom an unpleasant retort to Jamie's sincere apologies, 'what's our plan?'

'Should we split up?' Jamie asked the group, 'One group searches the festival, the other looks around town for clues?'

'No way!' Monty gasped, 'That's what always happens in horror movies! Besides Sophie has to stay here. Your mom said'.

'Then why don't you and Sophie stay here?' Jamie said.

'But your mom said we have to stay here! And she's gonna come check on us soon!' Monty asked, 'What do I say? 'Sorry Mrs Bennet but Jamie's helping Jack Frost and the boogeyman save our friends?''

'Geez, you're right', Jamie sighed, defeated, 'If she catches me sneaking off again, I'll be grounded 'til I'm twenty!'

'Okay then', Jack said, 'You kids stay here. Pitch and I will search the town'.

'I could probably cover more ground alone', Pitch ventured, 'You stay here at the festival while I search the town. We shouldn't have children wandering dark streets at this time of night after all'.

'You're not even trying anymore are you Pitch?' Jack asked frowning, 'Even some fake sincerity would've been nice there'.

'I'll go with him', Cupcake said firmly, as she squashed her empty cup.

'You sure Cupcake?' Jamie asked. It was the first time she had spoken since they had sat down.

'Yeah', she affirmed, 'My mom knows I'm with you guys and just wants me to call her every ten minutes so she knows I'm ok. If Mrs Bennet asks where I am, just say I've gone to the bathroom'.

Cupcake threw her cup over her shoulder without looking. It landed in the trash perfectly.

'Besides', she said, 'I saw some more weird drawings on the way here. We should check 'em out'.

'I'm perfectly capable of searching on my own', Pitch griped.

'Cupcake knows where the graffiti has been seen', Jack said, 'It's the only lead we have'.

'Why don't you go with her then?'

Jack raised an eyebrow and his mouth turned up slightly at one corner. Pitch knew that look and the silent question it asked made his blood boil: _You scared?_

'Where shall we meet afterwards?' Pitch growled, dropping the argument.

'Jamie's given her a walkie talkie so we can keep in touch. If you find anything, let us know. If not, meet back here in an hour'.

'Let's do this', Cupcake declared, tucking the walkie talkie into her coat pocket as she stood up.

As they walked away from the table Pitch decided to break the ice as well as take advantage of an opportunity for some ill-mannered humour.

'So your name's Cupcake?'

'Yeah'.

'May I ask how or why your parents chose-'

'No'.

'In that case, can I ask why you're searching with me?'

'Look Mr Creepy'.

'Mr Creepy?'

Cupcake reached up and grabbed his collar. With surprising strength, she yanked him down so he was nearly bent double, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

'Last time you were here, you tried to wreck our town and made us all miserable. It's my job to look after my friends and the little kids 'round here and I don't like bullies'.

When Pitch looked into her eyes he realised something disconcerting.  
Cupcake had no fear of him at all!  
He was too flabbergasted by the information to react, even as she jabbed the pointer finger of her other hand into his chest.

'That means I'm sticking to you like a band aid 'til I'm sure you're not gonna try anything I don't like! So, are me and you gonna have a problem or not?'

Jack couldn't help but flinch when he saw Cupcake grab Pitch's neck.

'Don't worry Jack', Jamie said, flinching as well despite his attempts at reassurance, 'If he tries anything funny, Cupcake can take him'.

Jack watched in amazement as Pitch shook his head furiously in response to an unheard question from Cupcake. She released him and strode ahead with Pitch following behind docilely.

'I think he thinks so too', Jack said, scratching his head.


	9. Chapter 9

The streets were fairly quiet apart from a few costumed families on their way to the festivities in the park. They smiled at Pitch and Cupcake, no doubt mistaking them for a father and daughter out and about for the same reasons. The pair uncomfortably returned the smiles.

As they rounded a corner leading to the mural site, Cupcake spoke up.

'So, thought you'd been eaten by Nightmares?'

Pitch made a show of touching his chest in disbelief.

'My goodness! Was I really?!'

Unlike most people twice or three times her age, Cupcake knew the best response to sarcasm was to pretend not to notice it.

'Where are they?'

'Gone'.

There was no way Pitch was ever going to admit to Cupcake that he had set them free in a state of self-pity.  
His escape plan had worked perfectly.  
The Guardians had been all too willing to believe the 'villain hoist by his own petard' cliché to bother investigating his fate any further. The Nightmares had not attacked him. They had spirited him away to a place of safety to escape further punishment.  
Pitch wasn't a food source. He was a fellow predator: a more powerful member in the food chain and every Nightmare instinctively knew it.  
Pitch was their master.  
Had been their master.  
He had been pretty low following the disastrous defeat at Easter. So much so that he had dismissed very single Nightmare under his charge: sending them out into the world to feed themselves. Sandy was so focused on his mischief that the small remaining number of Nightmares could feed themselves on the occasional bad dream without attracting attention.  
In the end, it had been Onyx who had restored his confidence.  
No matter how many times he had cursed at her or commanded her to go, she had stayed.  
Pitch didn't need friends. But a loyal pet was a different story.  
It was funny really that Cupcake was asking about their fate.  
After all, Onyx had been created in Cupcake's room.

'It's just up ahead', Cupcake said, breaking through Pitch's reminisces.

They turned into an alley just off main street and there it was.

Yet another shadowy figure. This time it had a gaping white mouth with black teeth painted in beneath its staring eyes.

Pitch noticed Cupcake's head swivelling between himself and the image just as Jack's had the day before.

'It looks nothing like me!' he snapped.

'Didn't say anything', Cupcake said, 'These started showing up in May'.

'Who is it supposed to be?'

'You're telling me you're the boogeyman and you don't know anything about the Nightmare Man?'

'Why don't you tell me something? Why is it that nobody believes in me despite me actually existing but everyone in this town is afraid of some cheap knock off that they made up in their own heads?!'

'Dunno. I don't remember when it started exactly. Kids' parents just started saying it. 'Be home before dark or the Nightmare Man will get you''.

'Any other information?'

'He only comes out at night'.

'We could be dealing with a vampire. Or a teenager'.

'And he eats kids'.

'Good news my dear Cupcake: this creature is too predictable to be real. Also, no phantasm in their right mind would ever eat a child'.

'I always heard the boogeyman ate kids', Cupcake said, crossing her arms.

'Why would I eat something that plays in mud, hates baths and eats sweets every chance it gets? It totally ruins the flavour'.

Cupcake frowned at Pitch's smile.

'I really hope you're joking. Jack said you could sense things'.

'I sense the miasma of fear generated by frightened human beings, not, as you so eloquently put it, 'things'', Pitch said, utilising air quotes to underline what he thought of her description.

'Well, can you do it or not?'

'Of course I can!'

'So do it!'

'Do not give me orders', Pitch said in a low voice, making the lights flicker for effect.

'Yeah yeah real scary', Cupcake said, waggling her fingers, 'If you can't do it, might as well head back'.

'I already told Frost coming here was a waste of time'.

'Aren't you like super powered now or something?!' Cupcake demanded, 'You telling me you still can't find a bunch of frightened kids?!'

Pitch was about to respond when something caught his attention.  
It was like an echo. Distant and faint. Like the sensation a human would feel when smelling something that triggers fond memories of home and family.

'There is something…something faint' Pitch said, expanding his senses.

There it was.  
Like a distant lighthouse in a dark sea.  
Three small voices. Three little food sources. And they were close by.

'Your friends are in this town' Pitch reported, 'They're alive. And they're terrified'.

Cupcake swallowed, absorbing the news.

'What happened to them?' she asked.

'It's very likely this Nightmare Man has something to do with it'.

'Thought you said it wasn't real?'

'That's the problem', Pitch said, feeling the paint on the wall, 'When people start to believe in something, it becomes real'.

'Like how we can see Guardians?'

'Yes. Another example is this'.

As Cupcake watched, Pitch began to elongate, becoming taller. His robe became a black suit complete with a tie and his long white hands became slim writhing black tentacles. Finally his face blurred until no features remained.

'Slenderman', Cupcake shivered.

Pitch dissolved the form.

'I only received knowledge of that form a few years ago because that's when it began to frighten people. Fears like spiders and snakes have been around for years but nowadays I can become anything from Freddy Krueger to a Xenomorph or the Terminator '.

'Didn't know you were into movies', Cupcake said, trying to shake the unease she had felt at seeing Slenderman in the flesh.

'I like movie theatres. Dark, quiet, lots of places to hide and plenty of young couples in the back rows to terrify'.

'Figures'.

Cupcake began to walk back into the light of the street. Only to encounter another unpleasant surprise.

Two boys pulled up a few feet away on dirtbikes. She frowned as she recognised them as Duncan and Jerome, two bullies she used to know. Jerome was dressed in what looked like black pyjamas. Duncan was wearing a Frankenstein's monster mask but normal clothes.  
Duncan's pet pit bull (and favoured tool of terror) Bowser was on a lead he was holding.

'Hey Cupcake', Duncan said, 'Surprised you're not trick or treatin'. Finally goin' on a diet?'

Cupcake smiled haughtily.

'Dunno Duncan, you finally got a brain?'

'Nice costume: you find it in the trash?' Jerome quipped.

'It's still better than yours', Cupcake said, 'What are those? Pyjamas?'

'I'm a ninja stupid!'

'Yeah right', Cupcake touched a finger to her head, feigning heavy thought, 'You're out wearing pyjamas and you think I'm stupid'.

'You'd better get home Cupcake or the Nightmare Man'll getcha!' Duncan said, spookily emphasising each word.

'Just like he got that girl and those dorky twins you always hang out with', Jerome remarked nastily.

'What did you say?' Cupcake growled, fingers balling into fists.

Bowser growled warningly.  
This distracted Pitch from his trance in the alleyway. Recognising the situation as three against one, he decided to improve Cupcake's odds.  
He peeked around a dumpster and treated the dog to a wide smile.  
The dog began to whine and whimper.

'Hey, what's the matter with Bowser?' Jerome asked.

'I dunno', Duncan said, tugging the dog's chain to try to stop the whimpering.

Tutting with impatience, Pitch stepped into the light. The bullies started a bit at his sudden appearance.

'Who are these boys?' Pitch asked Cupcake, giving them both a once over.

'Just a couple of losers', Cupcake said, crossing her arms, slightly embarrassed Pitch was seeing what he formerly considered 'friends'.

'The only losers are those idiots you hang out with now', Duncan said, 'What's his name? Jamie?'

'They're not losers!' Cupcake snapped, face reddening.

'Yeah they are and that makes you queen of the losers!' Jerome giggled.

'This is pathetic', Pitch said, irritated by the lacklustre wit and repartee being exchanged.

'Hey butt out pinhead!' Duncan said.

Pitch raised an eyebrow.

'Pinhead? Really? I thought children were supposed to have imagination'.

He took Cupcake's hand and began to lead her away.

'Let's go. I'm bored'.

The bullies began to laugh. The dog, emboldened by Pitch's impending departure, began to growl anew.

'Yeah Cupcake, run home with your new boyfriend! What's his name? Count Dorkula?'

'His costume sucks worse than yours!'

Pitch stopped. Cupcake looked up at him. He cricked his neck and let go of her hand. He spun around so fast the bullies stopped laughing.

'Cupcake?'

'Yeah?'

Pitch cracked his knuckles and then pulled on each long finger one by one. The bullies flinched as each finger made a noise like a twig snapping.

'You will let Frost know I tried to be civil won't you?'

'What are you-?'

'Getting into the spirit of things'.

Every light on the block went out, save for the two bathing the bullies and Cupcake in light.  
Pitch had vanished.

'What's goin' on?!' Duncan demanded.

Bowser began to bark.  
A loud meow silenced him. It was loud enough to set off a nearby car alarm.  
In the darkness of the alley appeared two large yellow globes. Giant cat eyes glaring at Bowser from the darkness. A giant paw appeared on the edge of the circle of light and lethal claws slid out one by one. Finally a large razor toothed grin appeared beneath the eyes.  
Boswer yanked his lead out of Duncan's hands and tore down the street, all bravado forgotten. His only thoughts now were of his basket and what a good dog he would be from now on.

'What the heck is that?!' Jerome yelled.

The cat eyes vanished.

'You answer back in class and steal from stores', Duncan said.

'What?!' Jerome snapped.

'I didn't say anything!' Duncan responded.

'You tear the wings off insects and break windows for fun', Jerome said.  
Duncan began to shake in fear. Jerome's lips hadn't moved.

'And you both bully anyone smaller than you'.  
The two bullies nearly fell off their bikes as they realised the creepy guy with Cupcake was now right behind them.  
But as they turned, he vanished again.

'But guess what boys?'

Both boys were shaking now, their heartbeats crowding their ears as the man's voice echoed around them, attacking them from all sides.

'You're not big. You're not scary. You're not even clever'.

Jerome cried out as he thought he saw a tentacle suddenly reach out of the darkness towards him.

'You're just naughty, rude little children out after dark'.

Duncan nearly fell off his bike as he felt as much as heard the scraping of scissors next to his ear.

'Nobody looking for you. All alone'.

Pitch allowed them to see him. Squids and the Scissorman. It was easy to combine those worst fears.

Duncan and Jerome screamed as a figure stepped out of the shadows.

'Do you know what happens to children who don't get home before dark?'

It lurched spinelessly and dragged its large feet as its tentacles whipped towards them. Each one was topped with a rusty pair of scissors. Its eyes had horizontal slits like a squid and its face was scarred and red raw. It opened its slimy, tooth filled sucker of a mouth.

'The boogeyman gets them!' it roared.

The bullies dumped the bikes and just ran, squealing.

And there it was.  
The music produced by a frightened set of youthful vocal cords.  
Pitch hummed in pleasure as it suffused his whole body, making every part of him glow warmly. They were playing his song.  
Bullies were always so satisfying to scare: there was something deliciously ironic in scaring those who tried to intimidate others.  
Concentrating, he began to withdraw the separate pieces of himself back together into one shape. As he solidified, he treated himself to a satisfied hand dusting gesture.  
He turned to see Cupcake looking at him open mouthed.

'That. Was. Awesome!' she cried, 'They looked like they were gonna pee themselves!'

'Perhaps there is hope for you yet', Pitch said, resisting the urge to smile, 'If you stop hanging out with that group of do-gooders'.

'Hey don't be a jerk just when I was starting to like you', Cupcake laughed, punching him good naturedly in the arm.

'You are a poor judge of character', Pitch winced, trying to subtly rub his sore arm.

'I used to be. Obviously. But seriously don't make fun of Jamie and the guys. I owe them a lot'.

'What for?'

'Before I hung out with them, it was really hard to make friends. I kinda scared people away'.

Pitch couldn't stop the smile this time. It turned into a full on guffaw.

'Hey! Stop laughing!' Cupcake shouted.

'You're just a little girl!' Pitch cried, wiping a mirthful tear from his eye, 'Your room is so full of pink and unicorns it would make Barbie blush! How could anyone be scared of you?!'

'I don't know! But they were'.

The pair began to walk back towards the park. Despite himself, Pitch began to listen to Cupcake's story.

'When I moved here, I was too shy to make friends. One day I hit a kid for laughing at me behind my back. Soon, I was the neighbourhood bully'.

Cupcake kicked a can.

'I hated it', she continued, eyes dark, 'Until Jamie, the guys and me had that great snowball fight, I didn't talk to any of them even though we lived in the same street. Then after what happened at Easter, we started hanging out at school and Jamie helped me fit in better'.

Pitch picked up the can and put it in a nearby trashcan.

'So everyone just accepted your miraculous transformation with open arms?' he asked.

'No. It was really hard sometimes. I had a lot of apologizing to do. Some of them still don't talk to me'.

'More fool them for not seeing you are more than you appear. They're not worth your time'.

'But it was worth it Pitch. I have friends now. Real friends'.

Pitch sneered at her smile.

'And what pray tell, are they worth in turn?'

'You really don't have any friends?'

Pitch picked up the pace and said nothing.

'I feel sorry for you', Cupcake said quietly.

'Why?!'  
Pitch stopped dead, scowling at her.

'Because I think you're lonely'.

'I choose to be alone!'

'You scared you might actually like the Guardians if you gave them a chance?'

Pitch glared into Cupcake's eyes, close enough to touch her face. To her credit, the girl didn't look away.

'The boogeyman is not scared of anything girl. This conversation is over'.

'I guess so', Cupcake said, increasing her pace to keep step with the troubled boogeyman.

Meanwhile, the creature continued its hunt.  
The park was so crowded, it decided to move above notice, leaping from tree branch to tree branch disguised as shadows cast from moonbeams.  
The voice was close now. Calling from a place that was dark and muffled its inviting song.  
The creature came to the pond and knew it had found the source of the power.  
It dunked its elongated head into the icy cold water and its lamplike eyes searched for the voice like a shark in the deep.  
It swam down to the silt and plucked the box from the mud.  
It wriggled in its crinkled, slimy fingers and the creature gave a sigh of pleasure as it felt the gentle thudding of the power within.  
The creature had no concept of home or belonging but it knew it had found something it needed and wanted with all its non-existent heart.  
It opened the box and its eyes opened anew. It knew what it was now. It knew what it had to do.  
And it finally knew the feast that awaited it up above. 


	10. Chapter 10

Back at the festival, the boys continued their search.  
Sophie had been safely handed back to Jamie's mother along with the prepared bathroom excuse for Cupcake's absence. She had asked the children to meet her at the fireworks display at ten o'clock sharp.  
This placed an unneeded but unyielding time limit on their search.

As they passed the large stage erected for the festival, they saw a little man standing below it with two big security guards flanking him. A small group of people were talking to them. Their conversation was hushed but intense. The little man kept making placating gestures.

'What's goin' on?' Jack asked.

'That's Pippa's mom and the twin's parents', Monty said quietly.

As they watched, the little man seemed to have calmed the situation. The group dispersed. Pippa's mother had the tell tale silvery streaks of tears on her face.  
The little man took out a white handkerchief and rubbed his face.

'That's Mayor Brannigan', Jamie explained to Jack, 'He's gonna make a speech at the firework show'.

'Brannigan? Well I'll be', Jack breathed.

He was a lot bigger than the last time Jack had seen him but little Toby Brannigan had gone far.  
It astounded Jack how fast time moved sometimes.  
Toby had been a bossy but friendly kid, always organizing games and telling jokes. And he had always loved snowball fights and snow forts.

Jamie's voice put a stop to Jack's fond recollection.

'And it's gonna be really boring and go on forever just like always'.

'But aren't the fireworks worth it?' Jack asked.

'Yeah, guess so. Especially the great big ones!'

'Then just let him talk', Jack said, indicating the mayor, 'He probably gets bored of meetings and speeches too'.

'But he's a grown up!' Monty protested.

'He was a kid once too you know', Jack smiled.

Jamie looked at the clock. They had been split up now for half an hour and there had been no word from Cupcake and Pitch. It hadn't stopped Monty checking the walkie talkie every five minutes.

'I hope Pitch and Cupcake are having more luck than we are', Jamie said anxiously.

'If Cupcake hasn't beaten him to a pulp', Monty mumbled, afraid the boogeyman would hear him.

'Nah. She wouldn't do that', Jack said.

He smiled at their questioning look.

'How can he keep looking with two black eyes?' he quipped.

He and Jamie both laughed. Monty didn't.

'You really think he's trying to help?' Monty asked.

'Seriously Monty?' Jamie groaned, 'You're still scared?'

'He's the boogeyman Jamie and he tried to eat us at Easter!'

'He wasn't trying to eat us', Jamie corrected.

'Okay sorry! Trying to take over the world!'

'Jack trusts him. Right Jack?'

To Jack's surprise the answer came easily.

'Actually, yeah'.

Jamie held out a hand in triumph.

'See?'

'Well I still-'

'Hey, you guys hear that?'

'What?' Monty asked, irritated at Jamie for cutting him off.  
This faded when he saw his friend's expression and noticed the party lights flickering overhead.

'Why's it getting dark all of a sudden?' he asked.  
Jack shivered before he realised what he was doing.  
How was he shivering?! It didn't make any sense!  
He moved Monty closer to Jamie and readied his staff.  
Jack didn't like this. A blown fuse or bulb wouldn't cause a general dimness of light. Or a lengthening of shadows.  
A strange creeping quiet seemed to supress the happy noises from the festival. Glancing over, Jack saw that nobody else seemed to notice the change in atmosphere.

'Pippa!' Jamie suddenly yelled and ran towards a gap in the trees.

Jack ran after him, Monty following behind.

'Hey Jamie hold up!' Jack shouted.

'It's Pippa!' Jamie said, pointing ahead.

A small figure stood in the shadows beneath the trees. The silhouette was unmistakable: Pippa always wore her lucky hat. She stood with shoulders slumped and head lowered. One hand beckoned Jamie closer.

Jack picked up speed and jumped over Jamie's head to stop him. Something wasn't right.

'Jamie no! It's a trick!' Jack said.

As Jamie still tried to push past him, the thing that was pretending to be Pippa dissolved into the ground before their eyes. Her shape became a long black tentacle that withdrew itself from the treeline.  
Pippa's voice came from the blackness beyond.

'Jamie? Jamie? Where are you?' it plaintively cried.  
It sounded as if it were moving farther and farther away.

Jack felt uneasy.  
The thing shaped like 'Pippa' had reminded him of the lures he used to use for fishing when he had been human.  
Another memory surfaced on the back of the first.  
He had experienced something like that voice before. It had led him to Pitch's lair at Easter.  
What was going on?!  
He was getting the nasty feeling that Pitch really did know more than he was letting on.  
Releasing Jamie but giving him a comforting pat on the back, Jack asked for the walkie talkie from Monty.  
Jamie wiped his eyes determinedly.

It crackled into life and Cupcake's voice came through clearly.

'I was just about to call you guys. Find anything?'

'We just saw something that looked like Pippa. Whatever's taken the kids is here!' Jack said.

'Yeah, that's what Pitch says. He says it's holding them somewhere close by'.

'So they're okay?' Jamie asked.

'For now', came Pitch's smooth tones.

'What does it want with them?' Monty asked.

'Their fear', Pitch responded, 'Like myself, it seems to have quite the appetite for it'.

'I don't want it deciding this is an all you can eat buffet', Jack said, 'How soon can you be back here?

'We're on our way back now', Cupcake reported, 'See you soon'.

She clicked the button to end the conversation.

Beside her, Pitch gave a heavy sigh and leant on a nearby trashcan.

'What's the matter old man? Getting tired?' Cupcake joked.

Pitch didn't answer.

'You okay?' Cupcake asked, concerned at the lack of a sarcastic response.

'I'm fine. Go on, I'll be there in a minute'.

As Cupcake ran ahead, Pitch felt his forehead.  
Sweat glistened on his grey palm.  
His hand shook as he knelt down to examine the bottom of his robe. His stomach turned to ice when he saw little pieces of the golden trim flake off like ash caught in the breeze.  
He wearily passed a hand over his face.  
He hadn't expected his powers to start fading so soon. And just when things were getting interesting!  
Then again, he had been doing a lot of shape shifting. It took a lot of concentration to make sure your mind stayed your own when it found itself in another body.  
He straightened up and began to walk.  
He needed his teeth to recharge and if Frost was not going to give them to him, he was going to have to get nasty. 

In a matter of minutes, Jack and the boys saw the duo approaching.  
Overhead, the clock struck nine.  
An hour left to search.  
Pitch cut Jack off before he could ask any questions.

'Where are they?'

'What?' Jack asked, caught off guard.

'My teeth'.

Pitch's confrontational tone make Jack feel uneasy.

'They're safe. Relax', he said calmly, about to talk to Cupcake.

Pitch slammed a fist into the wall just in front of Jack's face. Spidery cracks appeared in the stone and the kids flinched from the sound of the impact. He loomed over Jack as he barred his way.

'Where. Are. They?' Pitch growled.

Jack shoved Pitch back with his staff.

'Back off Pitch!' he warned, 'I'll give them to you later. Right now-'

Pitch interrupted him.

'You don't get to dangle them above my head like a doggy treat. That wasn't our deal. Give them to me now'.

'What is wrong with you?' Jack demanded.

'Just give them to him Jack', Cupcake said, trying to play peacemaker, 'If he needs them to keep looking then he needs them'.

'I can look just as well without them!' Pitch said, 'I just thought Guardians kept their word. That's all'.

'Who are you kidding? You're all shaky and your robe is moulting!' Cupcake said indignantly, holding Pitch's robe up to the light.

Jack saw the material before Pitch could snatch it back.

'Woah. I didn't realise it would wear off so soon', Jack said, surprised.

'You're telling me', Pitch groused.

'That's why you're angry? Why didn't you just say you needed a recharge?' Jack asked, exasperatedly.

Pitch stubbornly didn't answer.  
Jack groaned.

'Fine'.

He pointed towards the lake.

'They're this way. Come on'.

Jack led the way through the trees and the group collectively froze as they caught sight of the lake.  
It was bubbling.  
Strange green and yellow lights moved beneath the surface as steam hissed up into the cold air.

'Stay here', Jack commanded the kids.  
Pitch moved to stand beside him.

'They're in there then?' he asked.

'Yeah'.

Pitch began to move towards the lake.

'Hey! Can you not see what's going on?!' Jack said.

Pitch raised a sardonic eyebrow.

'This is obviously a poorly executed Halloween decoration of some description Frost. Or another trick of yours to stop me from taking what is rightfully mine'.

'No it isn't Pitch. Don't go near it', Jack pleaded.

Pitch sniffed dismissively as he saw the worried expressions in the group.

'Well I for one am not frightened of fairy lights', he said.

He reached towards the surface, extending a thin shadow through the water to probe the depths of the lake. He felt something smooth.  
The box of teeth!  
He began to reel the shadow back into himself.  
Something pulled back from the lake bottom.  
Cutting the connection in shock, Pitch stepped back as the water began to heave.  
A black shape rose from the water, visible against the star filled sky only because of the inky void of its skin.  
It was bipedal and at least nine feet tall. Its eyes were hollow yellow pits and its long serpent like tongue licked its needle like teeth. Its arms flailed wildly, as if it were controlled by a deranged puppeteer and as water ran down its skin, its shadowy feet bled into the ground like demented tree roots.  
It noticed the group and snarled, swiping with its large claws.

'Run!' Jack yelled at the frozen Pitch, using his control over air to blow Jamie and Monty back, out of range of the creature's vast hands.  
They landed safely on a large pile of leaves but as Jack turned to counteract the threat, he knew he wouldn't be fast enough.  
It was reaching for Cupcake.  
The girl stood frozen, eyes widened as she felt the terrifying aura radiating from the creature.  
Cupcake screamed but no sound came out as the monster reached for her.  
Suddenly she was on the ground. Free of the creature's hypnotic gaze.  
Pitch had pushed her away from the questing fingers.  
Now they were clamped around his arm.  
As he snarled and tried to phase from their grip, the shadows tightened around him, pulling him into a suffocating embrace.  
The creature lifted him to its eye level.  
He felt sick and disorientated.  
The creature was so familiar to him.  
Suddenly in a rush, it made sense.  
The murals. These long forgotten feelings. The hatred and the loneliness.  
Pitch saw his own face reflected in the hollow gold of the monster's pupils.  
The burning shame of realization entwined with the animalistic fear of capture he felt and he writhed around, impotently trying to get free.

'Pitch!' Jack yelled, flying up to attempt a rescue.  
Out of the corner of his eye, Pitch saw the creature swat Jack aside with a sinuous tentacle.  
As it opened its vast grey mouth, Pitch roared at it in pure frustrated rage.  
Even as black swirling energy began to flow from his mouth in a torrent.  
The group watched in horror as the creature absorbed the stream greedily, increasing in mass until it stood taller than the nearby fir trees.  
Soon, Pitch was his old self again, all decoration gone and staff shattered on the ground below. The creature shook the diminished Pitch like a rag doll. He hung limply in its grasp.  
The creature tossed him dismissively aside into the pond and began to slowly walk away, unable to move any faster due to its vast bulk.  
Towards the festival.  
The shock of the water seemed to wake Pitch up. He spat as he stood up, soaking wet and shivering.  
Jack was back on his feet, checking on Monty and Jamie. A livid bruise on his cheek indicated where he had hit a tree after being hit by the creature.  
Cupcake waded into the shallows and held his arm to steady him.

'Get off me!' Pitch snapped, wresting his arm away.  
The effort nearly sent him sprawling again.  
Cupcake looked hurt.

'She's just trying to help you!' Jack yelled, rubbing a sore arm.

'You should be more concerned with your own problems', Pitch sneered as he stepped onto the shore.  
Jack banged his staff on the ground and blocked Pitch's way.

'Excuse me?! Our problems?!'

'Some idiot in this town decided to create a monster, everyone bought into it and now like all monsters eventually do, it's on a rampage and trying to eat the villagers!' Pitch declared.

'What is that thing?!' Jamie asked.

'The Nightmare Man', Cupcake said, eyes downcast.

'The thing from the murals took Pippa and the guys?' Monty asked, shaking with nerves.

'Don't worry Monty. We'll make it give them back!' Jack said, 'How do we beat it?'

Pitch crossed his arms and looked away.

'How should I know?'

Jack summoned an icy breeze, his patience finally exhausted. Pitch couldn't supress a shiver as the water on his robes began to transform into ice crystals. Jack's eyes were glowing a pale blue as he controlled his power.  
Even the children moved back slightly.

'Enough hiding Pitch. You know what that thing really is. Now tell me!'

Pitch knew he was beaten.  
There was no longer any point in hiding his suspicions now. He knew they were true even if he didn't understand how.  
The way Jack was looking at him, Pitch knew he would no longer hesitate to beat an answer out of him. There was no laughter in his eyes now. Only icy resolution.  
Brushing the ice crystals from his robe and carefully stepping around Jack, Pitch asked him a question.

'Do you remember what happens when a Guardian loses believers?'

'They get weaker', Jack responded, wondering where Pitch was going with this.

'More than that', Pitch elaborated, rubbing his cold, reddened hands, 'They go back to whatever they were before the Man in the Moon chose them. I am not a Guardian but I was chosen'.

A nasty suspicion rose up in Jack's head.

'You're telling me that monster is you?' Jack asked.

'Once upon a time. When I first woke up on Earth I was a very different creature Frost. Hungry, vicious and totally mindless. Until the Man in the Moon found me. Over the centuries he changed me from a beast into a king. I kept people safe for him. I kept them under control'.

Pitch's face darkened as memories of his metaphorical days in the sun were swallowed by less enjoyable ones.

'And then the Guardians started showing up and all of a sudden Manny didn't need a guard dog to keep people safe. He cast me aside for Christmas bows and silver coins! For bribery and indulgence! And then when he decided I was useless, he decided to take my powers away! Just because a monster he created didn't fit into his little fairy story!'

Pitch rounded on Jack as he continued his tirade.

'I hope you got a good look at that creature Frost. That's what he wanted to turn me back into. A dumb animal that he could cage! Perhaps we should let him see how it feels when the caged bite back!'

A ringing silence concluded the rant. Monty shuffled awkwardly. Jamie and Cupcake looked at Jack, unsure of how to react to what Pitch had said.  
Jack lowered his head, processing all that Pitch had said.  
He took a deep breath.  
Then he answered.

'I'm sorry', Jack said.

'What?' Pitch asked, genuinely caught off guard.  
Frost was 'sorry'?!

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what Manny did to you. I'm not gonna defend it. But don't let Pippa and the others suffer for it! They have nothing to do with this!'

'I told you I'm not the hero Frost!' Pitch yelled, upset by Frost's response without knowing why, 'I can't defeat that monster so just leave me alone!'

'Oh yeah!' Jack shouted, waving his arms, ''Cause that'll fix everything! Why are you so afraid?!'

'I'm not afraid of anything!'

'Yes you are!' Jack practically screamed, 'I think you didn't want to talk about the murals 'cause it would mean letting someone in. Telling someone how scared you are of losing yourself! Letting someone see you vulnerable! Well Pitch, you look pretty vulnerable to me right now!'

Pitch looked as if he had been slapped. Then his eyes narrowed.

'Not as vulnerable as your little friends are', Pitch said and turned his back on the group.

Jack shook his head in disbelief.  
How could he ever have believed there was any good in Pitch?!  
He'd given him so many chances and every time they'd been thrown back in his face!  
Jack was done.

'Fine', he said tightly, 'I'll do this myself. Stay here. I'll be back. If not, snowglobe goes away at sunrise'.

Jack turned to the kids.

'Go back to the festival guys. It's not safe'.  
As the kids began to walk away, Jack took one last look at Pitch.

'You really are a monster', Jack said and leapt into the night.

Sensing a remaining presence behind him, Pitch glanced over his shoulder to see Cupcake standing there.

'You don't have to be the monster', Cupcake said quietly.

Pitch knelt down to her level.  
Why was she here? Hoping foolishly to somehow change his mind?!  
He gestured to himself ruefully.  
The grey skin. The animal like eyes. The slick, spiky hair. The long, grasping fingers.

'What else can I be?' he asked.

Cupcake took his hand as it fell to his side.  
Pitch's eyes widened at the warmth.  
Nobody had ever touched him before.  
Not with kindness like that.

'Sometimes the monster's a prince on the inside', Cupcake explained matter-of-factly.

And then she was gone.  
He heard the crunch of gravel beneath her trainers as she ran to catch up with her friends.  
He looked at his hand, still tingling with the warmth of Cupcake's touch.  
Was this what belief felt like?  
It had been so long he couldn't remember.  
In the scant, too few seconds it too for the warmth to fade, Pitch made a decision.  
He put two fingers to his lips and gave a silent whistle.  
He sensed it echo against the edges of the snowglobe and prayed she would be able to find him.  
She was back in the lair but maybe the globe let shadows in, just not out.  
The sound of approaching, rapid hooves prompted a silent 'thank you' from the boogeyman.  
In front of him, Onyx stamped on the leafy ground, her breath creating a translucent cloud from her nostrils.  
Pitch stumbled slightly as he walked towards her.  
Onyx gave a concerned whinny and met him halfway.  
Pitch leant on her.

'Just a little out of sorts. That's all', he said.  
He rubbed her shadowy skin and felt a surge of pride at her strength.

'You're not exactly a white charger', Pitch commented.

Onyx looked at him with large glowing yellow eyes as she nudged his hand for attention.

'But you're mine', the boogeyman smiled, patting her neck.

Then his smile turned up at one corner, sharp teeth showing malevolently as he sensed she was not alone. He knew they hadn't gone far!

'All of you'.

He leapt onto Onyx's back as more and more yellow eyes appeared in the shadows.

'Find the children!' he commanded.

As Onyx began to gallop with the scent in her nostrils and leaves flying at her heels, the Nightmares followed close behind their master.


	11. Chapter 11

Jack flew after the monster.  
He had to lead it away from the festival!  
One small mercy was the creature had made itself invisible. They were still a fair distance away but the thing was so huge, some poor festival patron would've had to have noticed it.  
That said, Jack didn't understand the point of trying to sneak up on people when you were bigger than hundred year old trees. As he watched, the monster's hide brushed against one. Dozens of rudely awoken birds fluttered away in panic.  
'Okay. So you're big, mean and don't care about the things around you', Jack commented, trying to come up with a plan of attack.  
Worst of all, it had Pitch's teeth. He could barely see the box's telltale glimmer deep inside the creature's chest.  
Who knew how strong the beast was now?!

Well Pitch certainly wasn't going to help and the thought of the self-centred boogeyman spurred Jack's speed. He swooped around the creature's face like a gnat, causing it to stop and shake its immense head in annoyance.

'Come and get me!' Jack shouted, conjuring a snowball that he threw at close range.

The snowball smacked the creature right on its pointed nose.

It growled and its eyes focused on Jack.

'Now I've got your attention', he grinned.  
It was a good thing it shared Pitch's hatred for being made fun of.  
Its mouth opened and dozens of tentacles shot out. Jack froze them and distanced himself to the creature's right.  
The creature gagged at the sudden dead weight in its mouth and used a clawed hand to break the ice.  
As Jack expected, it pivoted to face him. It was good and angry now. Easy to distract.  
The double edged sword this development was became apparent within the next few seconds as Jack was forced to use every ounce of his preternatural agility just to stay out of the creature's reach.  
He bobbed and weaved like a sparrow escaping the clutches of an angry cat but it was no use.  
The monster was too interested in destroying him now to give up.  
It spat sticky black liquid at him to try and slow him down.  
Jack reacted by flinging icy breezes and icicles from his staff.  
This just seemed to make the creature angrier.  
Jack tried to break its line of sight by hiding in the top branches of an old fir. He heard the creature make a frustrated growl and sighed, trying to calm his racing heart.  
The creature heard the noise and before Jack could react, it slammed an immense fist into the tree's trunk.  
The trunk cracked in half and it fell. Jack barely dodged, tumbling head over heels.  
He moaned as he stood up.  
Never mind hurting in the morning: this was aching right now!  
He backed away, staff ready as the creature advanced.  
He wracked his brains for more ideas.  
The creature wasn't doing any major shapeshifting: only changing its style of attack, never its main body.  
Pitch had said his brain had once been animalistic. Maybe this thing hadn't figured out the more creative uses of its powers yet.  
Jack could only hope.  
It was hard enough dealing with it when it was dumb as soup!

'Enough dancing Frost!'

Pitch's voice distracted both Jack and the monster from their battle.  
Jack's jaw dropped. He couldn't help it.

Pitch sat atop one of his Nightmares on the crest of a nearby hill, a black shadow against the moon.  
They dissolved as one and reformed from a patch of shadows beside Jack.  
Pitch offered Jack his hand.  
Jack took it and was hoisted unceremoniously to his feet.

'You can only defeat fear one way', Pitch said, 'Head on!'

Urging Onyx forward into a charge, Pitch grabbed a nearby Jack O' Lantern from the side of the path and heaved it at the creature. It burst open on the creature's oily skin, causing it to roar in anger but not in pain.

Pitch took advantage of the distraction to dismount, grab a stunned Frost and drag him through the shadows to a nearby hiding place behind some bushes.

'Thanks for the cavalry!' Jack said, 'What made you change your mind?'  
Pitch was about to answer but the bush was suddenly yanked from the ground. The creature dangled it above them tauntingly then swallowed it whole. The branches crunched as it went down.  
The creature raised its fists again and this time, Pitch barely dodged a cluster of newly formed tentacles.

'A fairy godmother!' Pitch snapped, 'Can we just focus on the monster?!'

He whistled and Onyx emerged from the shadows. Grabbing Jack, he threw him onto the horse before leaping on Onyx's back himself.  
She cantered into the sky at speed, circling the monster below.  
Jack noticed how tightly Pitch was grasping the reins.  
He sometimes forgot other spirits couldn't fly. 

'Yeah good plan!' he yelled over the rush of the wind, 'Any idea on how to beat it?'

'I know I can't defeat this monster. It's resistant to my shadow magic'.

'Then I have even better news: my powers don't work either'.

As Onyx executed a perfectly timed barrel roll to avoid a gobbet of black slime spat at them, Pitch found time to glance incredulously over his shoulder at Jack.

'I can assure you Frost, they don't bloody tickle when you're on the receiving end'.

'Well I can assure you they don't tickle or hurt this guy'.

'You've beaten me before! I thought Guardians knew how to defeat things that go bump in the night!'

'Okay okay! Let me think for a second!' Jack said, starting to count on his fingers, 'It's big, dark, scary, it came from inside you…'

Jack trailed off. At Pitch's withering look, he shrugged sheepishly.

'I don't suppose any of your friends would have any advice about our dilemma?' Pitch asked, rolling his eyes.

He rolled them again at Jack's surprised look.

'Yes, I am that desperate', he deadpanned.

'North says 'Fear finds us when we are most alone'. That helped me find your lair but it's not like it's gonna help us now', Jack groaned.

Then he noticed Pitch's face.

'Unless it is gonna help us now?' Jack asked.

'Not us', Pitch said, 'I have to do this alone'.

'I didn't mean that! Your powers don't even work!'

Without a word, Pitch directed Onyx back down to earth. As they both dismounted, Pitch made a gesture with his hand. Onyx vanished into the shadows.

'You've got some kind of crazy idea don't you?' Jack asked as he watched Pitch walk towards the monster.

'Trust me Frost. I know that's a big ask after everything I've done but don't try to stop me'.

'Who's gonna stop you?' Jack smiled, 'Need a boost?'  
Pitch nodded.

Slamming his staff into the ground, Jack created a whirlwind of waiting air.  
Willing himself to become shadow, Pitch slithered into the waiting wisp.  
With a shout of effort, Jack forced the wind upwards, sending Pitch skyrocketing towards the creature.  
At the point of impact, Pitch concentrated, maintaining his transparency.  
It worked and he leapt into the creature's chest, phasing through the tough hide.  
It was like swimming in oil, cool and slick but Pitch found he could thankfully breathe easily.  
He dove towards the box sitting where the creature's heart should have been.  
Artery like tendrils pulled across the gap in a bid to stop him.  
Pitch gripped them and began to pull them apart. His hands became torn and wept black liquid as the vines grew thorns to protect themselves.

But Pitch didn't stop.

'You don't control me!' he yelled defiantly.

As he let the last of the vines shrivel as they sank away from him, he grabbed the box.  
The world turned upside down as the creature bucked and roared, sensing its power source was being interfered with.  
Even as he tumbled within the liquid, Pitch scowled at the box.  
It frantically pulsed in synchronicity with Pitch's own adrenaline fuelled heartbeat.

'You're nothing but a bad dream!'  
He began to close the box. It burnt him with blue electricity as it reacted furiously to his touch.  
He focused and summoned whatever strength he had left.  
The tendrils whipped his face, leaving stinging red welts.  
The lid began to close.  
The creature tore into its own chest, frantically trying to pull Pitch out like an invasive parasite.

'I control my future!'

He was pushing it too far. He could feel his vision wavering. He was at his limit.  
But then he felt the lid snap shut.  
A roaring sound like a fierce wind.  
The crackling of electricity.  
Open air on his face.  
Falling. 

He landed on something soft yet solid.  
He groaned as he felt the box fall from his fingers.

'Got it!' came Jack's voice from somewhere beneath him.

Opening his eyes, Pitch felt Onyx's sandy mane on his cheek and knew who had caught him.

'Good girl', he whispered, sitting up on her back.  
Everything ached and the wounds on his hand tingled as they began to seal themselves shut.  
He glanced around as Onyx came back down to earth.  
The creature was gone save for a few tar like puddles scattered around the area.  
The festival continued in the distance, the population oblivious to the battle that had just occurred.

In a central tar puddle, a pathetic shape tried to crawl from the liquid.  
Wisp like and flickering, the remains of the creature tried in vain to escape its coming punishment.  
Pitch dismounted.  
Jack solemnly gave Pitch the box of teeth.  
Pitch took them with a nod of acknowledgement and advanced on the creature.  
Diminished and wraith like, the creature's form wavered on the edge of existence.  
It gave a high pitched whine of fear as Pitch bent down to it.

'There is only one boogeyman', Pitch whispered, 'Boo'.

The shadow shattered like black glass.  
In the midst of the crystalline fragments, a pale object lay gleaming wetly in the light.  
As the fragments began to break down into grainy sand that was absorbed by the earth, Jack used his staff to uncover it fully.

'A tooth?' he asked, bewildered by what he saw, 'That thing was a tooth?!'

'My tooth', Pitch said, rubbing his cheek ruefully, 'Thank you Toothiana. Happy Easter to me'.

As Pitch added it to the box of teeth, securing it safely, the two groups of Nightmares that Pitch had summoned arrived.

Running with one group came Monty, Jamie and Cupcake. On the backs of the other group of Nightmares were Pippa, Claude and Caleb along with a figure that Jack recognised as the stall operator from the festival. They were sleeping soundly.  
Jamie ran ahead of his group to Jack.

'Jack! What's happening? The Nightmares got us to follow them here and- Oh my gosh! Look! Monty, Cupcake! It's Pippa and the guys!'  
With cries of delight and surprise, the children clustered around the Nightmares who shrunk back instinctively, worried about the touch that would transform them back to dreamsand.  
Realizing the Nightmares' discomfort, Cupcake held up two restraining arms and raised her eyebrows at the boys.  
'Sorry', they chorused at the Nightmares, realization dawning.

'How did they find them?' Jack asked as he and Pitch joined the group.

'Well?' Pitch asked the foremost Nightmare.

Pitch listened intently to the successive whinnies, shrieks and snorts the Nightmare produced.

'The murals', Pitch explained to Jack, 'The creature put them there as entrances to its lair. In case it needed to escape. They found the victims there by following its scent as I instructed'.

The Nightmare whinnied again.

'And they were just in time', Pitch relayed, 'The portals vanished just as they got out'.

Jack nodded gratefully and took Pippa off the Nightmare's back. Pitch lifted the twins down with strength that was totally at odds with his thin frame.  
Jack wasn't surprised.  
After what he'd seen, he doubted he would ever be surprised by anything involving Pitch again.  
The guy could talk to horses for Pete's sake!

'What's wrong with them?' Jamie asked.  
A touch of Pippa's wrist told Jack they were definitely alive but a small shake brought no response from her.  
Pitch looked at the sleeping faces of the twins and knew what was wrong.

'The creature had them in a trance: replaying their worst fears over and over again', he stated.

'The Nightmares tell you that?' Jack asked.

'They didn't have to. It used to be a favoured tactic of mine', Pitch said.

Keenly aware of the uncomfortable silence that greeted this pronouncement, he lowered the twins to the ground and brushed some dust from his robe.

'Thank you', Cupcake said, smiling at him.  
Pitch hid the blush creeping over his pale skin by turning his back.

'They're sleeping peacefully now the spell's broken. They'll wake at sunrise. Now if you don't mind, I need a…a…sit down'.

'Sure', Jack said, 'You earned it'.

He looked up just in time to see Pitch collapse.

'He really did go all out', Cupcake said fondly.

Jack smiled.  
Until he noticed one of Pitch's hands.  
It was inky black with gnarled fingers topped with curved claws. The blackness was spreading up his arm. As Jack looked at Pitch's drawn face, he saw the boogeyman's eye colour change to pools of tar. Pitch breathed shallowly as he reached out for Jack.

'What's happening to him?' Cupcake cried.

'He's used up too much power', Jack said, 'He's turning into that creature. What he used to be'.

'Do something!' Cupcake commanded, rolling Pitch onto his back to help him breathe.  
Pitch was too weak to push her away this time.

'We believe in the boogeyman!' Jamie said, 'Come on guys!'

The Nightmares were clustering around their fallen master, heads lowered as they tried to understand what was happening.

'It's not enough!' Monty yelled, 'He's not a Guardian anyway!'

Cupcake practically growled in frustration but then gasped as an idea popped into her head.  
She marched over to Jack.

'Jack, there's at least fifty kids at the festival! We can do it with their help!'

'How are we supposed to do that?!' Monty cried, 'A lot of 'em don't even believe in Jack Frost!'

Cupcake groaned at Monty's pessimism.

'Then how come we can still see Pitch?! We believe in him. We can make them believe too!' she said.

Jamie's eyes lit up.

'She's right!'

'She is?' Monty asked, earning himself a thump on the arm from Cupcake.

'Look around!' Jamie said, 'If you see a guy walking around dressed as Dracula do you think 'Hey there's Dracula!' or 'Hey there's some guy dressed as Dracula?!'

'_Who do they expect to see?_' Jack breathed, Pitch's own words taking on new meaning, 'That's it! I mean if you can't believe in the boogeyman on Halloween when can you?!'

He knelt down beside Pitch and touched his shoulder.  
Pitch's eyes became focused despite the tremors in his body.  
He just wanted to go to sleep: to give into the simple instincts trying to control his brain.

'Hang in there Pitch', Jack said, 'We're gonna get you some believers'.

Mayor Brannigan was checking his tie in a mirror hung up hastily behind the outdoor stage when the kids found him.  
Pitch had been stowed safely inside Jack's cabin. It was out of the way of any casual festival goers but close enough to the PA system so he could hear what was going on.

'Hi Mr Mayor', Jamie said.

Brannigan smiled at the voice. He liked kids and knew Jamie's mother well.

'Hello Jamie. You enjoying the festival?'

'Hello sir', Jamie said politely, 'This is gonna be a big favour but we'd really appreciate it if you'd Jack Frost do the intro. He's like a town mascot now'.

'Jack Frost?' Joseph, Brannigan's security guard asked as he joined them.

'Yeah', Cupcake enthused, 'He's made his own costume and everything!'

Brannigan hesitated, unsure of how the other organizers of the festival would feel.

'Good for publicity sir', Joseph whispered, 'Especially with recent events'.

That sold it for Brannigan. He knew Jamie knew the missing children. Letting Jamie's friend open the festival was the least he could do.

'Alright then', he smiled, 'I'm tired of making speeches anyway: after a while they all sound the same'.

He headed towards the stairs leading to the stage.

'I'll just go up and introduce him. Where is he anyway?'

'Right there', Monty said, pointing.

Mayor Brannigan jumped as Jack suddenly became visible behind him. Joseph reached into his coat automatically before quickly backtracking. No way the scarecrow-thin teenager was a threat.

'Sorry son, didn't see you there', Brannigan said but then he seemed distracted, 'Do I know you?'

'Guess I just have one of those faces', Jack said, then winked, 'Toby'.

'Toby? Ha! Nobody's called me that since…'

Jack watched the tell-tale blue sparkles dance in Toby's eyes and his smile increase.

'Sir?' Joseph prompted.

'Huh?' Brannigan said, shaking his head, 'Oh sorry! Just remembered something from when I was a kid. Great costume son!'

Brannigan stepped onto the stage to a round of enthusiastic applause. Joseph followed and took a seat at the back of the stage, beside the head of the PTA and other people who had organized the festival.  
Jack and the kids breathed a collective sigh of relief.  
They waited for the small speech Brannigan had promised and finally the moment of truth came.

'I'd like to introduce one of our honorary citizens: Jack Frost!'

'Let's do this', Jack said determinedly and flew out into the spotlight for good measure.  
As the crowd whooped and gasped as he flew over their heads, he knew it had worked!  
Just like with Pitch's spiders earlier, even adults were prepared to believe, as long as ironically they thought it was fake.  
He landed back on the stage to a generous amount of applause and bowed. 

'I know this isn't really my time of year to be hanging around', he said, 'but I just thought I'd come and say thanks for the great cabin!'

As the kids moved to the front row, they could hear snatches of conversations over their heads.

'Oh! He's adorable', smiled an old woman.

'What a great idea. That's so nice for the kids', said a man further downstage.

'Aren't his feet cold?'

'You know I've never thought about Jack Frost but that is totally what he looks like! He nailed it!'

'Keep going Jack', Jamie whispered, 'They're liking it!'

'You all having a good time?!' Jack continued, Jamie's words carried to his ears by the North Wind, 'It's Halloween! And that means it's time to introduce a special guest!'

'I wasn't told about this', Brannigan whispered to the Head of the PTA sitting beside him.

'Really Mr Mayor?' she responded, 'Everyone's been talking about it. That really great magician you hired?'

'Oh yeah, think I saw him earlier', Joseph commented, 'He was good'.

'You probably saw him doing some tricks earlier', Jack said, listening to the conversation behind him, 'Those spiders got me good!'

'This is going to be awesome!' whispered someone dressed as a scarecrow beside Cupcake.

Aware of the excited hum from the crowd and the smiling faces of the children in the front row, Jack went for it.

'So let me ask you something? Do you believe in the boogeyman Burgess?!'

Cupcake, Monty and Jamie yelled 'Yes!' at the top of their voices.  
They weren't the only ones.  
Three hundred voices all yelled 'Yes' as one gigantic mass of men, women and children.

Jack looked at the cabin and a vivid green lightning flash illuminated the windows.  
Maniacal laughter echoed around the stage as black smoke began to billow from the cabin.  
The crowd clapped and cheered as a vast cloud of bats burst from the trees surrounding the festival, flapping between multi-coloured lights. These changed and morphed together to form large horses with blazing yellow eyes that cantered above the heads of the audience.  
Then lightning struck the stage.  
The crowd went quiet as a black shape emerged from the web of vibrant electricity.  
Pitch raised his staff and shrieked.  
Jack felt the hairs on his neck stand up at the sound as well as the hair on his head.  
He chuckled at the odd sensation and the audience joined in, amazed that every spectator's hair was suddenly standing on end.  
Pitch swept his cloak impressively and it dissolved into spiders that crawled off stage.  
'Speak of the devil', Pitch declared, all weakness gone, 'And he shall appear!'  
He thumped the butt of his staff into the stage and every decorative pumpkin on stage began floating.  
'Happy Halloween!'

As the crowd clapped, whistled and stomped, Brannigan nudged Jack, who had taken a good few steps back out of range of any unexpected explosions.

'I don't remember hiring him but I'm glad someone did!' Brannigan laughed as he jumped at a ghostly shark circled overhead.

'The crowd's really liking him', Jack agreed.

'See if he does birthday parties would you?' Brannigan asked, 'My daughter would love this!'

'What age is she?'

'Eighteen'.

At Jack's raised eyebrow, Brannigan humphed.

'So what? I'm enjoying it and I'm forty six!'

Everyone agreed it was the best festival the town had ever seen.  
It was made even better by the missing children turning up safe and well the next day.  
Nobody was quite sure what they had been through but all would come out in time.  
In true Halloween tradition, nobody could find the magician or even recall catching his name.  
Afterwards, when Brannigan asked Jamie and his friends who the magician had been, little Sophie piped up.  
'Boogeyman!'  
Nobody believed her. No adult at least.  
There was no longer any talk of the Nightmare Man but amongst the children of the town, whispers began about a creature that looked evil but kept the worse ones away.  
When Jamie told him, Jack just laughed and wondered if Pitch would appreciate the mark he had left on the town.

The next morning, the bleak Autumn sun rose over discarded pieces of forgotten candy and extinguished Jack O' lanterns.  
Walking beneath the trees, Pitch picked up a candle and idly examined it.  
It smelt of cinnamon.

'Slipping away without saying goodbye?'

Frost's irritatingly cheerful voice nearly made Pitch jump. Nearly.

'I don't much care for the spotlight Frost', Pitch sniffed, dropping the candle into a nearby bin, 'Or sunlight for that matter'.

'That's funny', Jack said, jumping down from the tree he was perched in, ''cause it looked like you were really enjoying yourself up there last night'.

Pitch tossed him something as he landed.  
Jack realised it was the box of teeth.

'Seriously? You don't wanna keep these?' Jack asked.

'More trouble than they're worth', Pitch shrugged, 'Besides, thanks to last night, I feel better than I have in eons. So many jump scares and spines tingled. Delicious'.

'So?' Jack prompted.

'So what?'

'Anything else you wanna say to me before you head off?'

'There may still be young children in the vicinity so no'.

Jack folded his arms.

'You try really hard to get people to hate you don't you?'

'Compared to you who barely has to try at all', Pitch said, rubbing his eyes, 'It's been a long night Frost and I just want some peace and quiet'.

'Looks like we can agree on something. Oh! One more thing'.

He tossed Pitch a small object.  
Pitch caught it between two fingers and examined it.  
A small foil wrapped chocolate that looked like a pumpkin grinned up at him.

'Happy Halloween', Jack said.

Pitch looked at Jack as if he were crazy, laughed once and walked away.  
As Jack did the same, he thought he heard something but by the time he had turned back around, the boogeyman had vanished into the forest.

'I suppose it was…fun'.

Later that day, Jack returned the box to Tooth.  
She was dumbfounded when Jack told her the origin of the mysterious monster and immediately started to blame herself.

'I didn't realise there was one missing. I got so distracted. It's all my fault!' she cried, covering her face.

'It's okay Tooth', Jack said, touching her shoulder, 'We saved them didn't we?'

She gripped the box of teeth and eyed it with distaste.

'I just hate even looking at these….wait…'

She examined the box closely.

'What?' Jack asked, getting nervous.  
The box wasn't broken was it?

'Something's different', she said, weighing it in her hand, 'It's lighter somehow; it doesn't feel bad to hold it anymore! Jack, what did you do?'

Moving back slightly from Tooth's intense, questioning stare, Jack looked at the box.

'All the power must have been used up', he suggested.

'That's not possible. Bad memories never fade. Unless…'

'Unless what?'

'Unless the owner chooses to let them go', Tooth said quietly.

'Why do you think the tooth took the kids?' Jack asked.

'It was part of Pitch', Tooth said, looking at the box as if she was trying to convince herself she could really see it, 'Probably trying to feed off their fear instinctively. It must've targeted Pippa and the twins because it recognised them. It could feed off their fear but no matter how much it ate, it still felt empty inside. It was…'

'Lonely?'

Tooth closed her eyes and clutched the box tight.  
Could it be true? Could the boogeyman be more than he appeared?  
The thought made her uneasy.

'You think we could let him out again next Halloween?' Jack asked, 'Maybe drop into his place for a house party?

At Tooth's expression, Jack held up his hands to ward off the lazer beam stare.

'Okay we'll put a pin in it', Jack said, 'But he sure knows how to throw a party'.

The End.


End file.
